Medical associations have welcomed Karl Lauterbach’s nomination to head the health department in the new federal government.
Berlin – “The appointment of Karl Lauterbach as the new Minister of Health is the right answer to the challenges of the corona pandemic,” said the chairman of the Virchow Association of Resident Doctors, Dirk Heinrich, in Berlin on Monday.
“Science is the natural enemy of populism, which is why we will only defeat the pandemic based on facts and with decisive action,” Heinrich emphasized. Other important tasks for Lauterbach are the debudging of medical services, the expansion of digitalization in the healthcare system and the reform of the fee schedule for doctors.
“I am pleased that a doctor is going to be the Minister of Health,” said the chairwoman of the Marburger Bund Doctors’ Association, Susanne Johna. Lauterbach is a “proven specialist and has not only proven since the pandemic that he has a high level of expertise,” she emphasized in the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
The medical organization Hartmannbund called on Lauterbach for a constructive dialogue about the further development of the health care system. “The future Minister of Health is an excellent expert on the field and we, as doctors, on the other hand, know very well what we have in him,” said the chairwoman of the association, Anke Lesinski-Schiedat.
The Verdi union called on Lauterbach to implement the “needs-based nursing staff measurement tool” provided for in the coalition agreement as quickly as possible. This is intended to improve the working conditions for the carers.
“Even before Corona, the situation was more than tense due to the fact that the workforce was far too thin. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation again; now the hut is on fire and nerves are on edge,” said Verdi board member Sylvia Bühler. A U-turn in hospital care is “overdue”.
There was also praise from political competition. “Karl Lauterbach has developed incredible trust in society from his personality, intellect and commitment,” wrote CDU politician Norbert Röttgen on Twitter.
Lauterbach had been named as the new Minister of Health by the designated Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz that morning. The 58-year-old doctor will be a “specialist health minister”, he justified the decision. The immunologist Lauterbach is considered one of the most renowned health experts in his party, but there were also reservations about him in the SPD.
“We have to fight this pandemic, the pandemic will last longer than many think,” said Lauterbach immediately after his nomination. “But we will do it,” he said optimistically. For this, “vaccination will play the central role, but not only”.
The primary goal, however, is initially to reduce the number of corona cases so that “we can celebrate and travel as good as possible at Christmas,” emphasized Lauterbach. It is about “bringing the number of cases down so far that we can recommend trips without endangering people”.
Lauterbach also announced that he wanted to make the health system “more robust again” in order to be “better equipped for further pandemics than we were for them”. He ruled out reductions in benefits in the health sector.
bk / mt
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