Markdorf is urgently looking for pediatricians: Hope for the early practice opening

Markdorf is urgently looking for pediatricians: Hope for the early practice opening

Since the departure of the pediatrician Ulrike Laterners at the end of March, the city of Markdorf has been under pressure. Despite multiple tenders, the location was initially without successors, which was a great concern for many families in the region. There was hardly any hope that the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) would soon find a new pediatrician.

But now there is light at the end of the tunnel. The positive turning point is shown by a message on the city's Facebook page, where Regina Holzhofer, the head of the office, asked for a suitable apartment for the upcoming family of doctors. As it turns out, a 4- to 5-room apartment has been found for the potential pediatrician who wants to move to the Lake Constance region with her family from Rhineland-Palatinate.

A new home for the applicant

The applicant was enthusiastic about the support and openness of the people in Markdorf and the surrounding area. According to the report, a suitable accommodation was organized within just three days. Holzhofer emphasizes that this willingness to help has encouraged the couple in their decision to take over the practice in Markdorf.

Nevertheless, Regina Holzhofer remains carefully optimistic. She emphasizes that the final decision still depends on the KV admission committee, which meets in September. Only when this agrees to the preservation of the doctor's seat can the reopening of the pediatric practice on Bahnhofstrasse. The uncertainty remains until this decision.

The reopening of the practice is important in view of the chronic scarcity of pediatricians in the region. According to Kai Sonntag, a spokesman for the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, there is currently a surplus of pediatricians in the Lake Constance district. As a result, the region has so far been considered oversupply, which makes the establishment of new practices impossible.

Kai Sonntag explained that the need plan from the 1990s was adjusted several times, last 2019. There are currently more pediatricians in the Lake Constance region than the guidelines provide. Under these circumstances, the only possibility is that the existing practice is handed over to a new successor if the admission committee agrees.

In the meantime, the parents and children in Markdorf only have to hope that everything will go well. However, if there are delays or the approval fails, the city could possibly have to do without the pediatrician. This would mean that local care would be acutely endangered for the small patients.