Health care reforms | Emergency care in need

Emergency rooms often reflect more than just the health needs of the people around the hospital. Photo: dpa/Christian Charisius The federal government wants to reform emergency care primarily by giving patients more control. This is understandable as long as people still dial 112 with a tick on their body or with leg pain that has lasted for three weeks. On the other hand, something is generally wrong here. And this doesn't just have to do with a lack of health skills among the population.

In a survey, the Left parliamentary group also asked rescue workers what they believe are the most common reasons for incorrect operations. First and foremost is the lack of knowledge of other offers, in more than 40 percent of the answers. So people don't know that they should try their family doctor first - sometimes even the pharmacy helps. But the family doctor nearby isn't accepting any new patients, the pharmacy has just closed. The hospital is too far away. Savings are being made everywhere, and the Federal Government wants to save even more.

In the end, many saved structures become real emergencies, well beyond a tick or leg pain. In the end, people call the fire department. People in psychological crises (repeatedly), homeless people, addicts and families in great fear are already coming to the emergency rooms. The emergency services literally run non-stop. The distances to the clinics are expected to become even longer in the future. And so rescue workers said in the aforementioned survey: “Don’t close any more hospitals!” But it is to be feared that this is exactly what will happen, since this government will be the last to ask the local employees. And certainly not the patients.

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