Protest in Emden: Citizens defend themselves against emergency ambulance!

Protest in Emden: Citizens defend themselves against emergency ambulance!

Emden, Deutschland - In Emden, concern for the announced closure of the emergency outpatient clinic is growing. Critics have already collected and mobilize their voices for a demonstration on Thursday, June 19, at 5:30 p.m., before the upcoming city council meeting. In April, the clinic manager Dirk Balster announced the closure of the emergency services offerings in both Emden and in Aurich, which came across broad rejection. This decision is related to the legal requirements for emergency outpatient clinics that need specialist departments, intensive care units, laboratories and radiology to meet the patient. In the future, all emergencies will be brought to the planned central clinic in Uthwerdum, which is scheduled to open in 2029. The emergency services should be reinforced in order to cope with this change, reports Nwzonline .

A passionate voice in this debate is Zerrin Mentjes, who has already organized a first demonstration with 250 participants. She has a sharp criticism of Balster's attitude, especially with regard to the needs of older and mobile impaired people. Balster has argued that it was not possible to build four central clinics and that seniors have to organize the trips independently. This reasoning has annoyed many Emden and triggered voices of indignation.

Reformed emergency care or status quo?

The background of these controversy is the complex legislation around health care in Germany. At a time when the state of emergency care is criticized as inconsistent and ineffectively, the plans of the traffic light coalition to reform emergency medicine are on the brink. The experts have been calling for uniform standards for years to improve the quality of care. These reforms could not only increase efficiency, but also save up to three billion euros per year, such as Tagesschau reported.

The tragedy in this situation is that the previous citizens' decisions about the central clinic and the promised 24-hour emergency services may not meet the legal standards that would be necessary. Michael Martens, a member of the "Together for Emden" voters, has already raised questions about the formulation of the 2019 citizens' decision. It is unclear whether all of these questions can be answered before the important council meeting on Thursday.

public reaction and future prospects

The public reaction is mixed. While some citizens support the closures due to the economic and structural conditions of the hospital reform, many of them feel different and feel a deep disappointment about the supposed promises. Ingo Weber, candidate for mayor in Emden, has also launched an online petition that has collected around 800 signatures by Wednesday. The demands as part of this petition aim to maintain the emergency rooms in Emden and Aurich and to take the concerns of the citizens seriously NDR .

The situation remains tense and the upcoming city council meeting promises a decisive course for emergency care in the region. The Emden are looking forward to the decisions that will affect not only their healthcare system, but also the future quality of living in the city.