Healthcare provider SRH warns of increasing difficulties in the German hospital landscape
19.06.2023 18:29
The health and education provider SRH is supporting the nationwide day of action on June 20, 2023 against the massive underfunding of German hospitals and is linking it to concrete demands for quality-oriented inpatient care.
The SRH, which claims to be one of the largest health and education providers in Germany, supports the day of action on June 20th, which the German Hospital Association (DKG) and its state hospital associations have called for. The reason is the massive underfunding of German clinics, which is making it increasingly difficult to ensure quality-oriented inpatient care in Germany.
“Per-case flat rates and care rates have not been raised sufficiently for years, while at the same time material costs – such as energy, food or medical equipment – as well as personnel costs are rising significantly. However, as clinic operators we cannot compensate for these burdens. Instead of selective, short-term help, we need reliable hospital financing that takes these developments into account. We have been pointing out this imbalance for some time - hardly anything has happened so far," says Prof. Dr. Christof Hettich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SRH. “This significant imbalance continues to increase without the legislature taking sufficient action. Those who suffer are the people who will no longer be able to receive as good medical care as is actually possible and necessary.”
Against this background, the SRH repeats the demands it formulated last year for all hospitals in Germany:
- Compensation for increases in energy procurement costs compared to 2021 - limited in time for the years of particular stress.
- Taking into account the further, market-average increases in benefits in kind and personnel costs in the refinancing and prompt payment of flat-rate relief payments.
- Accelerated revision and implementation of a completely new hospital structure plan in all federal states in order to quickly address the existing opportunities for increasing performance in overall care (outpatient/inpatient) - not just in the university sector.
“We expect the legislature to act quickly for the benefit of our patients and in the interest of well-functioning medical care throughout Germany,” added Christof Hettich.
The SRH operates 15 acute and rehabilitation clinics as well as around 200 medical care centers (MVZs) nationwide. The non-profit foundation group employs almost 10,000 people in the health sector alone.