The Unrelenting Storm in Hospital ERs and On-Call Services in Thuringia: A Persistent Struggle
Persistent Assault on Emergency Rooms and On-call Services Remains Intense - Persistent Flows to Emergency Room, On-the-Ready Status Persisting
Let's cut to the chase: hospitals and general practitioner on-call services in Thuringia are wrestling with a persistent influx of patients. Clinic reps hint that the closure of selected hospitals, coupled with a shortage of general practitioners, is exacerbating the predicament. Mind-boggling statistics from the Statutory Health Insurance Physicians' Association highlight that Thuringian emergency rooms and on-call services log over half a million physician-patient contacts annually.
Post COVID-19, we've hit the 2019 numbers once more. Prior to that, the on-call service (reachable via116 117) was the talk of the town, but it's clinic emergency rooms period now. A common sight is patients seeking medical attention during regular practice hours — y'know, the times when they'd typically be dealing with their GPs if all was right in the world.
For many folks, hospitals just seem like the go-to place for medical issues, as per Annette Rommel, the big cheese at the association. Per the Thuringian Hospital Act, hospitals can't refuse patients. Gundula Werner, the head honcho at the Clinic of the Altenburger Land and the chair of the State Hospital Association, remarks that people in rural areas, who struggle to find a GP, often end up heading to the emergency room as a last resort.
Sometimes practicing physicians nudge their patients to the emergency room. The debate over whether it's a genuine medical emergency in every case surfaces frequently. Werner notes, "From the patient's perspective, absolutely, but perhaps not necessarily from the doctor's perspective."
Stephan Breidt, the spokeschimp for Thuringia Clinics Saalfeld, spills the beans: "Nowadays, patients just can't find a doc, self-diagnose as a critical case, and then they float to the emergency room." These are usually complaints that general practitioners should handle, Breidt reveals. In most instances, these issues don't warrant inpatient admission.
Saalfeld's emergency room has taken a beating since the shuttering of Schleiz and Neuhaus am Rennweg hospitals last year. Since then, the number of cases in the emergency room has doubled! "Earlier, we saw up to 80 cases a day. Now, we've got 150," Breidt sighs, bemoaning the unmanageable chaos.
The Thuringia Clinics Saalfeld are also grappling with the organization of the statutory health insurance on-call service. As of now, around 115 GP positions are vacant in Thuringia, leading to a deficiency in doctors for the on-call service. This gap is filled by over two dozen on-call service centers, mostly based at hospitals, driving services, and sometimes via video consultation.
Both the association and the State Hospital Association consider reform of emergency care an urgent necessity. A bill for this was already submitted by the previous coalition government. The proposed bill suggests setting up access points in clinics, guiding patients to the emergency room or an on-call practice depending on the urgency of their condition.
- Amid the challenge in Thuringia's hospitals and on-call services, a possible solution could be an increase in vocational training for more general practitioners.
- In light of the overwhelming number of psychiatric cases, it would be beneficial to incorporate mental healthawareness and treatment into the curricula of vocational training programs for health professionals.
- To combat the growing incidences of chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, COPD, type-2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis, workplace-wellness programs and fitness-and-exercise recommendations could be part of vocational training for healthcare professionals.
- As part of vocational training, medical students could be encouraged to study the latest therapies-and-treatments and how they can be implemented in community policy for diverse medical conditions.
- During vocational training, emphasis should be given on evidence-based practice in the diagnosis and treatment of medical-conditions to avoid unnecessary visits to emergency rooms.
- To bridge the gap caused by the shortage of general practitioners, policymakers could consider strengthening vocational training programs to increase the number of practitioners in rural areas, which would help reduce the burden on emergency rooms
- To ensure optimization of services across the entire healthcare system, including emergency rooms and on-call services, transcending the boundaries of specific policies, there is a need for interdisciplinary collaboration and continuous medical education, even within the context of vocational training.
