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Joint hospital: Friesland and Wilhelmshaven are setting an example!
The central clinic for Friesland and Wilhelmshaven has been decided. The district council and city council promote cooperation for modern healthcare.
Joint hospital: Friesland and Wilhelmshaven are setting an example!
A significant step for healthcare in the region recently took place in Friesland and Wilhelmshaven. The district council and the city council have decided to establish the central clinic for Friesland and Wilhelmshaven. This decision, which is seen as a solidarity between both sides, paves the way for a joint hospital. The next step? The search for a suitable location that is both economically viable and medically sensible. This is an important piece of the puzzle in the discussion about the future healthcare landscape, because we know that the Corona crisis has made the importance of a well-functioning healthcare system clear, as DIW notes.
So far, reference has been made to the provisional continued operation of the three existing houses and their future use. The main actor in this development phase is the city of Wilhelmshaven, whose city council has also spoken out in favor of the merger with the Friesland Kliniken. This happened under the background that managing director Norman Schaaf emphasized that “business as usual” was not possible, but he saw new opportunities for cooperation. The district council of the Friesland district has also voted for possible cooperation under certain framework conditions, which all in all promises positive prospects, as BibliomedManager reports.
Securing liquidity and restructuring concept
Another aspect of these promising steps is the approval of liquidity protection of up to 51 million euros for the clinic in Wilhelmshaven for the years 2024 and 2025. But in order for everything to go as smoothly as possible, the clinic must present a comprehensive restructuring concept by November 21, 2024. Schaaf expresses relief about the decision, but at the same time makes it clear that major challenges lie ahead in implementation.
The merger of hospital companies is not new - there have been numerous examples in the USA and Europe in recent decades and a large wave of mergers in the hospital sector has also taken place in Germany. Between 2003 and July 2020, only seven of 325 registered transactions were prohibited, which, according to DIW, shows how much the trend is towards larger units. But mergers don't just bring benefits - they can bring about efficiency gains, but at the same time they can also reduce competition and lead to higher prices or a loss of quality if they are not implemented correctly.
With the current decision, the central clinic is not only seen as a sign of trust between the two cities, but also as a model for future joint projects. Citizens can therefore look to the future with optimism, while planners now have to concentrate on finding a location and further development.