Germany’s healthcare system is in trouble, with higher contributions, increased waiting times, and more violence, and it is not the only developed country experiencing a crisis.
While in 2021 only one in ten Germans was dissatisfied with the healthcare system, this figure has now increased to 30 percent, and to 47 percent among those with health problems, according to a representative survey by a top German health insurer. A whopping 94 percent would consider some kind of reform necessary, given that “while more and more money is being paid into the system, it is working less and less.”
Another 62 percent complained about having to wait long for specialist examinations, with dissatisfaction particularly high in smaller towns and in eastern Germany. The expert interviewed by Welt also warns politicians against creating false expectations that the situation will improve:
Germany’s population is getting older, and the days when doctors were willing to work up to 60 hours a week are over.
In order to avoid further increases in contributions, health insurers are urging that contributions for those living on welfare be financed by the state budget, not by other contributors. Political scientists say something should be done about such anomalies, if only because they are a boon to the “populists.”
Meanwhile, the Dortmund city hospital is the first in Germany to equip its employees with body cameras. Violence against healthcare staff has increased to such an extent that they are forced to resort to this tool both to “de-escalate” and to document attacks on staff, reports Mandiner.
In a previous study, half of the hospitals surveyed reported that violence had increased in the past five years, and another fifth reported a “significant ” deterioration, especially in emergency departments. It just so happens that mass immigration has surged into Germany in the same time period.
The cameras will be turned off in confidential medical situations; only in potentially violent situations will the staff turn them on, if they wish. Based on the evidence gathered, violent individuals could be banned from the hospital grounds, with only those allowed in if their lives are in danger.
Germany has also sold mass immigration as a solution to the health crisis in Germany, however, this is far from the case, as Remix News reports. Many of the foreign doctors have difficulties with the German language, which is vital for interacting with patients on a daily basis. Furthermore, the influx of migrants who have not paid into the system has led to skyrocketing costs.
Other developed countries are facing similar problems, such as France. Just this week, the National Rally submitted a bill to protect healthcare workers from violence. There, the number of reported incidents increased by 65 percent between 2020 and 2023.
According to a union leader, this is due to growing insecurity, drug use, and a lack of money and manpower within hospitals – the average waiting time in emergency departments is now over three hours, 45 minutes more than in 2013. “In France, medicine has never been so advanced, and at the same time, it has never been so difficult to get to a doctor,” says one expert.
Another article notes that while the wait time for a general practitioner was 10 days in 2024, it was “only” four in 2019. The average waiting time is two months in gynecology and two and a half months in cardiology.
Despite claims that migrants will save the Western health system, France has never seen so much immigration as in recent years, and yet, the health system continues to deteriorate. There is no doubt that an aging European population plays a role in this development, but immigration does not appear to be offering the panacea once promised. In fact, it has only led to more violence for hospital staff.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 30, 2024
German politicians are spreading misleading information about Syrian doctors working in Germany.
5,000 Syrian doctors may sound like a lot, but there are 420,000 doctors in Germany. The number of Syrian doctors is approximately just enough to cover the 1 million Syrian… pic.twitter.com/fHJh9945y9
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the two chambers of the Swiss parliament are also trying to reach an agreement on how to make the profession of general practitioner more attractive. There are to few of these doctors in Switzerland as well, with their average age standing at 55-58 years, which is not much brighter compared to the situation in Hungary, which features far lower wages for doctors compared to Switzerland.
Violence against hospital workers is also not unknown in Switzerland either: In Bern, almost twice as many cases were registered in 2024 as in 2018; the expert interviewed also attributes the deterioration there to social problems such as insecurity, psychological problems and substance abuse, sometimes compounded by “ cultural differences and language barriers.”
