Corona in the district of Miesbach: review and outlook with Minister Klaus Holetschek

Created: 11/25/2022, 13:14

By: Sandra Hefft

What effects did and is the corona pandemic have on the district?

At the invitation of the CSU local associations Tegernseer Tal (from left) President of the State Parliament Ilse Aigner, Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, District Administrator Olaf von Löwis as well as Benjamin Bartholdt, director of the district hospital, and Steffen Herdtle, medical director, spoke about this.

Chairman Thomas Straßmüller spoke for the district medical association.

© Sandra Hefft

Gmund – How can the fall of the obligation to isolate Corona be justified and what is the situation with the Agatharied hospital?

There were answers at a CSU event in Gmund.

How is the upcoming third winter of the corona pandemic going and how is the district hospital doing?

In order to shed light on these questions, the CSU local groups in the Tegernsee valley have invited representatives from the medical profession, hospital and politics, including Minister of State Klaus Holetschek and President of the Landtag and constituency Ilse Aigner to the Gasthof am Gasteig in Gmund for discussion.

With its emergence, the corona pandemic presented politicians, the health system and society with major tasks.

"We had to drive on sight," recalled Ilse Aigner, President of the Landtag.

"We learned almost every week what we should and shouldn't do." In the meantime, the level of experience regarding the virus has changed.

Minister of State Klaus Holetschek: "We are in a new phase of the pandemic"

The comparatively less dangerous prevailing variant also makes a different approach possible.

On Wednesday (November 16) in Bavaria, for example, mandatory isolation in the event of corona disease fell.

"We are in a new phase of the pandemic and have to make decisions based on the situation," said Health Minister Klaus Holetschek.

Anyone who wants to go into isolation in the future can do so on a voluntary basis.

Should the situation change, a new decision would have to be made.

Thomas Straßmüller, first chairman of the medical district association, also confirmed that it was justified to withdraw the corona measures and to rely more on personal responsibility.

Almost everyone has had contact with the virus, and there is also a drug.

At the same time, decision-makers must learn lessons from the past pandemic years in order to be better prepared for any upcoming threats.

The real heroes of the pandemic

Everyone involved agreed that something had to change in terms of working conditions and appreciation for nursing staff.

Along with doctors and cleaning staff in the hospitals, they are the real heroes of the pandemic, emphasized Holetschek.

Because the bottleneck in the corona wards of the hospitals is not caused by a lack of beds, but by a lack of staff to take care of the sick.

It is about nothing less than human dignity.

"In the last few hours we don't need a computer, we need someone to hold our hand," said Holetschek.

Hospital Agatharied with a big minus

Meanwhile, rising energy costs and inflation are taking their toll on hospitals, which are already badly hit.

The Agatharied hospital will have a deficit of 12 million euros in 2021, explained District Administrator Olaf von Löwis.

"The pandemic acted like a fire accelerator," hospital board member Benjamin Bartholdt summarized the financial situation.

The problem lies, among other things, in the dual financing.

"Only those who have more patients can survive," explained Bartholdt.

This has not been possible in the district hospital over the past few years, and many operations have had to be postponed or cancelled.

In addition, there were regular tests, increased documentation and now also increased energy prices and inflation.

"The situation is slowly getting out of control," Bartholdt warned.

Bartholdt is frustrated that the fact that cannabis legalization is being discussed instead, for example: “I wonder where the prioritization is.

We hospitals need first aid and compensation for the cost pressure.”

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Holetschek: Ensure supply close to home

Closing houses on a large scale is not the solution, especially not in rural areas, emphasized Holetschek.

The primary goal is to ensure local supply.

Particular attention is paid to child and adolescent medicine and emergency medicine.

Excessive bureaucracy and regulation in the medical field must also be counteracted.

"We have to find regionally appropriate solutions to stabilize the houses," said Holetschek.