The boss of AOK Rheinland/Hamburg, Günter Wältermann, has spoken out in an interview with the „Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger“ about the downgrading of 10,000 hospital beds in the North Rhine Westphalia region. Moreover, in his opinion, every hospital does not need to offer every type of operation.
The Krankenhausgesellschaft NRW offers a different view, however, claiming that demographic trends suggest it is more beds that are needed, not less. Furthermore, the number of beds has decreased in the last 15 years as it is.
State Health Minister Barbara Steffens (Green) told the newspaper that within the framework of hospital planning, it has „certainly come to bed degradation“. More important than the number of beds, she claims, was the quality criteria.
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