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Pediatrician's practice closes in Bad Saulgau: parents in need!
The pediatrician's practice in Bad Saulgau will close at the end of September 2025. The search for a successor was unsuccessful, which poses challenges for parents.
Pediatrician's practice closes in Bad Saulgau: parents in need!
Parents in Bad Saulgau will soon have to come up with something new, because Dr. Anke Seitz and Dr. Christoph Seitz will close at the end of September. This was at the request of Schwäbische.de confirmed. The two doctors had already announced in February 2023 that they would be leaving the city for personal reasons and have been looking for a successor since then without success.
The farewell will be painful for many parents in the region, as the closure of the practice further worsens the situation in pediatric care. Christoph Seitz informed parents about the impending closure by email. He urges those affected to look for a new pediatrician or family doctor in good time. An emergency solution could be the telemedicine offers of the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVBW) and the online consultation hours of the health insurance companies.
Structural problems in (pediatric) medical care
The situation in Bad Saulgau reflects a much larger problem. There is a noticeable shortage of pediatricians in Germany, especially in rural regions. Loud ZDF Many pediatric practices are overloaded and are no longer accepting new patients. Around 40 seats for pediatricians are currently vacant in Bavaria, and the situation is similarly tense in Baden-Württemberg.
The Seitz couple sees the challenges in finding a successor as part of a structural problem that is often neglected by politicians. “Parents should put pressure on their state parliament members,” emphasized Seitz. He liaises with colleagues to ensure continued care for patients, particularly those who have special care needs. Jasmin Nowak has also started an online petition that has already collected 505 signatures and is campaigning for the preservation of pediatric care in Bad Saulgau.
Initiatives and measures to combat the shortage
The Bavarian government has begun to implement measures to combat the shortage of pediatricians. Health Minister Judith Gerlach (CSU) is planning to introduce the rural doctor quota, which is intended to guarantee medical study places for work in underserved areas. This is intended to increase its attractiveness for medical professionals.
A further step is the introduction of the rural doctor bonus, which offers grants of up to 60,000 euros for setting up practices in rural regions. These initiatives are intended to help avoid future shortages and attract more young doctors to pediatric and adolescent medicine. However, it remains to be seen whether these measures will be sufficient to solve the acute shortage.
Until then, families in Bad Saulgau and other affected regions will have to get creative. In Moosburg, Bavaria, parents report that they have to travel to Landshut or Munich for an appointment with pediatricians. The deputy mayor Georg Hadersdorfer complains of similar problems and the municipality is considering giving the practice away in the hope that strong interested parties will come forward. Demographic change is doing the rest, as many baby boomers are retiring and the majority of subsequent generations work part-time and therefore cannot offer the necessary capacity.