Clinic supplies in danger: Employees raise the alarm in Schwerin!

Clinic supplies in danger: Employees raise the alarm in Schwerin!

There is great concern about medical care at the Helios Children's Clinic in Schwerin. An open letter from employees to the clinic's management bluntly addresses the problems plaguing the clinic. According to that NDR The employees criticize the acute shortage of staff and warn that the clinic's care mandate is at risk if the situation does not change soon.

The shortage of skilled workers is particularly worrying. Nurses, therapists and doctors are missing everywhere. Although the clinic management rejects the allegations as objectively incomprehensible and emphasizes that no restrictions on pediatric medical services are planned, the situation remains tense. Sebastian Ehlers from the CDU, a member of the supervisory board, takes the allegations seriously and calls for discussions among all those involved in order to find solutions.

A look at the personnel shortage

The Helios Clinic Schwerin is one of the largest hospitals in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and employs around 4,000 people. Nevertheless, the clinic is faced with a growing staff shortage, which has recently been exacerbated by the dismissal of 50 to 60 employees from a subsidiary. These layoffs affect employees who have taken on important service tasks, such as serving meals or making beds. This has a direct impact on everyday hospital life, as nursing staff are now additionally overloaded in order to cope with the tasks that arise, reports Schwerin.news.

The clinic management argues that legal requirements, such as the Care Strengthening Act, prioritize qualified nursing staff. However, the acute shortage of staff remains as fixed-term contracts in the medical and nursing sectors expire and temporary employees are not always extended. Although the clinic suggests that no redundancies are planned, there is great uncertainty hanging over the workforce.

Disillusionment and frustration

The introduction of a “skill mix” model, in which teams of differently qualified personnel share the work, was actually intended to provide relief. But in reality, nursing staff feel overwhelmed by the additional tasks. Long waiting times and overworked employees lead to increasing frustration among both patients and staff. Some laid-off service workers are given the opportunity to undergo further training to become nursing assistants, but this does not solve the problem of the acute staff shortage in an instant.

The Ministry of Health of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has already announced that it will ask questions about the security of supply in the children's clinic. The developments at the Helios Clinic Schwerin show that a good dialogue between clinic management, employees and political decision-makers is essential in order to ensure the quality of medical care and regain the trust of patients.