CDU fights against a shortage of specialist: acute emergency in MV!

CDU fights against a shortage of specialist: acute emergency in MV!

Rural health care in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is on the brink. This is shown by the CDU's current campaign under the motto "Operation Country". With a call, which was distributed in 250,000 mailboxes in the country, the party wants to draw attention to the pressing problem of the length of specialist. The Initiative is led by Daniel Peters, the CDU state and parliamentary group leader, who decorates the worrying situation with urgent examples. For example, a dermatologist has retired and has not left a successor, which means that residents cannot find a doctor on a radius of 30 kilometers.

A total of over 800 feedback on the MV-Kann- Mehr.de/fachaerzte platform, which describe the difficulties and bottlenecks in specialist medical care in detail. The reports range from long waiting times - about six months until the next appointment with a urologist or even 18 months for rheumatologists - to enormous routes for acuttering. Hard to believe that patients have to travel up to 180 kilometers to Berlin to visit a dermatologist.

alarm mood in healthcare

The specialist association association in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has been alarm since November 2024. She warns of the dangers that threaten to close specialist practices for outpatient care in rural areas. Events in Schwerin have made it clear that many practices have to close without successors, which further increases the pressure on the existing resources. In the center of Ludwigslust-Parchim, there was only one of four ENT practices left in the middle of the year-an alarming signal for health care in the region.

According to the reports, the situation in other areas such as Uecker-Randow, Malchin and Bad Doberan is similar. Here, too, numerous places are vacant. The state government was asked by various specialist associations for support, in particular to promote young prospective specialists who are committed to working in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A frequently mentioned proposal: prospective specialists should work in a practice for at least half a year to get to know the conditions on site and to understand the challenges.

strategies to improve the situation

The CDU sees an urgent need for action and has designed a ten-point plan to ensure the home and specialist medical care. Among other things, this plan includes the creation of additional medical study places, the increase in the land doctor quota for specialists and the reactivation of the country doctor's scholarship. In addition, the accelerated recognition of foreign doctors and the reduction in bureaucracy is required in everyday practice. It is particularly important to strengthen the networking of outpatient and inpatient care.

Health care in rural regions needs innovative concepts to close the existing gaps. The demographic change and the associated aging of the population increase the need for medical care, especially because there is often a higher burden of illness in rural areas. Innovative approaches such as telemedical offers and mobile practices could be a sensible addition to improve the accessibility for patients.

The situation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is symptomatic of many rural regions in Germany, where access to high-quality health care is often difficult. Without clear measures and investments, citizens in the rural parts of the country are faced with the challenge that necessary medical services are increasingly difficult to achieve. There is a lot of work ahead of us in order to continue to ensure basic medical care across the board.

How the situation develops and what steps are actually taken remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear: the alarm bells ring and it is high time.