As of: February 14, 2024, 6:22 a.m
By: Sebastian Horsch
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A virtual children's clinic is intended to improve the treatment of small patients.
Criticism of Bavaria's Health Minister Gerlach's implementation is now coming from the Greens.
Munich - When the flu and other infectious diseases spread through Bavaria again, the problems that the more than 40 children's hospitals in the Free State are also suffering from will quickly become clear.
Not only are more children getting sick, the already thin staffing levels are also becoming even more open.
Small patients therefore have to be moved again and again - sometimes across half of Bavaria.
And even then there are bottlenecks - especially in critical cases, complains Matthias Keller, medical director of the Third Order Children's Clinic in Passau.
“We often can’t find emergency doctors to transport these children.”
The Greens in the Bavarian state parliament criticize the implementation of the virtual children's clinic by State Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU).
© Rolf Poss/imago-images
Bavaria's Health Ministries Gerlach satisfied with virtual children's clinic
In order to ensure the best possible care for sick children despite the shortage of skilled workers, Bavaria's Health Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) gave the starting signal for the virtual children's clinic in December, which is intended to help find free hospital beds for children.
The project “got off very well,” Gerlach now tells our newspaper.
“Over 90 percent of the pediatric capacities in Bavaria are already connected to this communication platform.” Almost all children’s hospitals have now confirmed their participation.
But that's still not enough for the Greens.
“The announcement of the project by the state government alone does not achieve anything,” says budget politician Claudia Köhler to our newspaper.
Because it isn't much more than that in its current form.
Greens criticize Gerlach's virtual children's clinic - Köhler calls for more efforts
About a year ago, the Greens themselves submitted an application to the state parliament to set up a telemedicine network for pediatric intensive care and emergency medicine - they had budgeted three million euros for it.
The idea: Experts at different clinics could support each other via telemedicine, and a kind of virtual visit is also conceivable.
The government factions rejected the idea because of their own plans.
Köhler says she was happy when the then Health Minister and current CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek handed over a check for 360,000 euros to the University of Passau as the project sponsor in the summer.
But: “A request to the plenary session revealed that the already low sum would be spread over four years,” Köhler tells our newspaper.
“The check is actually not a check at all if the grants are spread over four years.
Or it’s only a quarter covered, you could say,” mocks the Green politician.
Significantly more effort is needed.
The Ministry of Health points out that investment costs for the participating children's clinics would also be financed through the special pediatric funding program - totaling around 2.1 million euros.
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CSU Minister Gerlach announces further expansion of the virtual children's clinic
The Greens' criticism is not limited to finances.
The fact that the virtual children's hospital in Bavaria is initially “just a digital occupancy system” is also not sufficient, says Köhler.
“It’s about connecting with the medical staff and the know-how” that has to reach the little patients.
When asked by our newspaper, Minister Gerlach announced that the network should be further expanded.
“The first telemedical consultations between the treating doctors and specialists in other clinics should be possible as early as autumn 2024”.
Rural areas in particular will benefit from this.
It should then start with the “important area of pediatric intensive care,” says Gerlach.