The third mayor, Verena Dietl (SPD), has been responsible for health in the city for three years. The 43-year-old is particularly concerned about the care of children and young people, more living space for nursing staff and prevention for addicts. Are the next three years up to the local elections enough for all your projects? She’s hoping – even if, as she says, things could go faster in one place or another.
SZ: You have two children, nine and four years old. Have you recently been afraid that your children might not be well cared for medically, that you couldn’t get an appointment with the pediatrician?
Verena Dietl: I am really very happy that we have a good pediatrician. It’s like winning the lottery for me. Because unfortunately I’m aware that it’s not that easy to find a pediatrician in Munich. But it is elementary for families to have a good pediatrician, because he will accompany the children for many years. Especially in Corona times, I was very worried about how the families in Munich are doing, who may not have a permanent contact person here.
We have many good pediatric practices, but not everywhere.
Yes, I am very disappointed that we are not able to have better, nationwide coverage throughout the city.
The Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVB), not the city, is responsible for the distribution of doctor’s seats.
Exactly. Because if the city were responsible for this, we would do everything to ensure that we had better care. But the KVB says that there are enough paediatricians in Munich overall. But they are not evenly distributed.
Is called?
Keep trying to talk to the KVB and make our demands clear. Ultimately, we don’t want to watch any further. We have to think about how we can put money into good outpatient care.
Just like in Riem. The district has a pediatrician – after many years. But only because the subsidiary Medicenter of the Munich Clinic (Mük) finances the practice and is supported by a foundation and initiative.
Yes, that took a long time. Citizens’ legitimate demand for a pediatrician has been around for ages. This model would also be important for the north of Munich, for example. The cooperation was the result of a long preparation. But it is actually not the original task of Mük to take care of it. Therefore, our task will be, if no clearer signals come from the KVB, to continue to enable such practices and to go exactly such cooperation paths. For example, to look for rooms with the help of the housing associations.
Is the health care for children in Munich good?
I think you can get help if you need it. Even in an emergency. I just think the system isn’t being used properly.
What do you mean?
Well, if every family had a permanent pediatrician, fewer people would go to the emergency room. It would be important to me that you only use emergency care when you actually need it. But if you don’t know where to go, you end up in the emergency room. I can understand that, every family would do it that way. We have to get to the point where you can go into practice in most cases.
The Munich Clinic with its five houses will soon reposition itself with a new medical concept. What is important to you there?
I would wish that not only the city clinics were responsible for the care. It was an aha experience that, for example, when it came to corona care, the city’s hospitals saw it as their duty, and many other clinics looked at what the city was doing, but didn’t see themselves as responsible. There needs to be some overarching planning. I also believe that we cannot have the same offer in every house. Mük will soon have a new boss – I really believe that this will be put on a good footing.
And then we would also have the problem of the nursing staff shortage…
That’s the linchpin for me. We cannot operate beds without nurses. And only when nurses are satisfied do they ultimately promote their profession. And the general conditions have to be attractive, which for me means above all affordable living space in Munich.
A house for nursing staff is currently being built right next to the Schwabing clinic. That is not enough.
Definitely not, more projects are needed. And we have to make more living space available for certain professional groups. After all, we have the two-billion-dollar “Living in Munich” program and are constantly developing it further. But the money must also be used intensively to enable us, for example, to provide even more affordable living space for nursing staff. You can achieve effects with this, otherwise more and more nursing professionals are migrating to us because of the high rents in Munich. That must not be.
But there is hardly any space left in Munich.
Everything is sure to be crowded, but you can still find a few places (laughs). I am pushing for integration with the housing associations so that such projects can be realised. And an acceleration of settlement development measures.
You mean, for example, the urban development measure (SEM) in the northeast?
Yes, everything has to move faster. We’re just talking about such long periods of time – my grandchildren can then move in. We have to develop neighborhoods where people not only live, but live. This includes the infrastructure and also the health care. One must not lose sight of that. For example, it would make sense for the KVB to think about such a large district in its distribution system. So make sure that there are pediatric practices in the SEM and that doctor’s seats are made available for them. One would also have to think more in medical centers.
A concern close to your heart are the people who are not doing so well.
I don’t want us to lose sight of certain groups of people in the city’s healthcare system. Those who can’t represent themselves. It is important to me that families affected by poverty have good access to health care. That people who are addicted to drugs and are often pushed out of our society get support. On every drug memorial day, I realize that the drug-related deaths would not have to die if one could work with them preventively to get out of drug use again. For example, I would like to see a drug consumption room in the city.
However, the Bavarian state government does not want this drug outpatient clinic with a drug consumption room in which medical and psychosocial help is to be offered.
In 2018, we already approved the project in the city council. I recently wrote to the Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU). He could probably imagine it by now. But that’s not a commitment yet.
What is the most important topic for you?
The nationwide supply of paediatricians in the city. I would like Munich to be a model city in the field of medical care for children and young people and for everyone to look to Munich and say: Yes, they are really doing something for the future of our future generations.