Half a billion shocks the district councils: resistance to central hospital plans is growing

Created: 03/29/2022, 08:00

By: Sebastian Tauchnitz

The district councilors were once again received by demonstrators from the “Pro Hospital” action alliance.

Among other things, they accused the politicians of only wanting to use the western district for waste disposal and reported that almost 3,000 citizens had already signed their petition to keep the Schongau hospital.

© GRONAU

The budget debate is one of the highlights of the district council's work every year.

However, it was not particularly enjoyable this year due to the district's financial situation.

In view of this, resistance to the construction of a new central hospital is growing.

District

– The list of investments for the coming years, which the district council drew up last autumn, has a volume of roughly 200 million euros.

The debt limit of 105 million euros set by the district council itself will in all likelihood be exceeded in 2025.

And all this despite the fact that the municipalities in the district pay the most money in Bavaria with the district levy.

Money that the county uses to do its jobs, money that the towns and communities in the county lack to do theirs.

So the situation is serious.

However, the views in the district council differ widely on how serious it is.

Friedrich Zeller (SPD/Schongau) attested to the administration and district administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiß in the debate that the present budget was “an oath of disclosure.

We are already over-indebted.” One of the main reasons he identified was “the failed hospital policy of the past few years”.

Indirectly, he was referring to the fact that the district has been raising millions every year for a long time to compensate for the minus of the Weilheim-Schongau GmbH hospital.

Last year the record amount of 13.5 million euros (we reported).

Schongauer threatens to go to court if they don't win the contract

According to Zeller, this failed policy will continue.

"A fundamental decision to build a central hospital was made last fall without knowing the expected costs," he criticized.

Only a few weeks ago it became clear that the construction could cost up to half a billion euros.

Even if the Free State - which is far from agreed - would assume 75 percent of the costs, the district would still have its own share of 125 million euros.

Zeller once again underlined his demand to seriously examine the application of Schongau as the location of the new central hospital.

And immediately indicated where the journey could go from the point of view of the Schongauer: "The location decision should better be judicial."

"New construction only if no more subsidies are then due"

Whether intentional or not – in the budget debate, Zeller focused on the future of the hospital.

Karl-Heinz Grehl (Greens/Weilheim) also expressed his skepticism about the hospital plans: "In the noughties, we tried everything to reduce the hospital GmbH's need for subsidies," he reported.

More and more reports were created and implemented, but the problem remained.

Now there is a new expert "guru" who proposes the construction of a central hospital.

"I'll say it clearly: We can only finance a new building if there are no more annual subsidies afterwards."

The choice of a location is not a political, but a factual decision.

District Councilor Hans Schütz (Greens/Peiting) was amazed at the external presentation of the hospital GmbH: "As part of the large-scale advertising campaign for the new building - how much has it actually cost so far?

- repeatedly giving the impression that the district council's fundamental decision had already been made.

But this is not the case.

We just said we wanted to know more.”

"Outpatient center is sold as a treat, but it's just a stillbirth"

Schütz called for more honesty in the debate.

“The ambulance center in Schongau is always sold to the public as a treat for Schongau.

It's a stillbirth.

Because the number of statutory health insurance doctor approvals in Schongau is exhausted.” If one wanted to lure resident doctors to the new outpatient center, one would either establish competition with the medical practices in Schongau beyond the actual need through further statutory health insurance doctor approvals, or these practices would move to the current hospital move: "And then the vacancies in Schongau's old town continue to grow." He also doubts that a "central hospital in the Bermuda triangle Polling-Weilheim-Peißenberg" will be accepted much better.

Even the CSU voiced some criticism of the hospital GmbH.

"Our problems are not with the investments, but with the running costs," said CSU faction leader Peter Erhard (Böbing).

The subsidy for the hospital GmbH is too high.

“But we all have to take a good look at ourselves.

Plannable, profitable operations are still going abroad, although we have very good medical care here," he criticized.

"If the hospital GmbH covered its costs, the district levy would be five percent lower"

Armin Jabs (BfP/Penzberg) continued to rub salt into the wound.

The district levy in Weilheim-Schongau is five percentage points higher than in the neighboring district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen.

"And that results from the subsidies for the hospital GmbH." The hospital in Penzberg, which has been operating cost-effectively since it was sold to the Starnberg Clinic, proves that there is another way.

The demands of Rüdiger Imgart (AfD/Weilheim) were the most drastic: "We stand by the preservation of the hospitals in the district - not just since I was recently in the Weilheim hospital and my life was saved there." Financial situation of the district "don't spend half a billion euros on cloud cuckoo land".

Instead, Imgart advocated concentrating hospital care at the Schongau site and turning the Weilheim hospital into an administrative center.

"And if that cannot be implemented, the hospital system in our district must also be privatized."

District Administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiß did not want to leave that uncommented: "We want the best possible health care in the district and that in municipal hands." Across Bavaria, the districts and municipalities would be on their way to get money for central hospitals from the Free State .

You have to be at the forefront there.

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