The Marburger Bund Niedersachsen welcomes the increase to 200 medical study places in Oldenburg by 2027 planned by Science Minister Falko Mohrs - and at the same time sees no alternative. Its Second Chair Andreas Hammerschmidt: "In view of the already blatant shortage of doctors in Lower Saxony, which is set to worsen significantly, the expansion of medical study places is the only viable option. This must go hand in hand with adequate financing of university medicine in terms of staffing for research and teaching and appropriate facilities. Lower Saxony has the lowest number of university places for human medicine per capita in Germany. At the same time, it is alarming that 280 fewer doctors will be trained in Oldenburg by 2030 than originally agreed with the state - because the necessary funds are lacking."

Press release Marburger Bund

The increase from 80 to 120 first-year students in Oldenburg for the current winter semester is an important step, according to a press release from the Marburger Bund. However, the largest German medical association is calling for significantly more: 1,200 study places in the Federal State of Lower Saxony in the long term. "The total of 789 study places for human medicine that we currently offer at the three Schools in Lower Saxony are nowhere near enough," criticised Hans Martin Wollenberg, First Chair of the Marburger Bund Niedersachsen. "The situation is getting worse the more time passes. The next generation of doctors and ensuring medical care for the population in Lower Saxony cannot be delayed!"

Press release Marburger Bund

The Marburger Bund Niedersachsen has strongly condemned the state government's decision not to provide any funding for additional medical study places at the University of Oldenburg in the 2022/23 double budget. "The state of Lower Saxony is still not living up to its promises to secure the future demand for doctors by increasing the number of medical study places in Lower Saxony," said First Chair Hans Martin Wollenberg. In comparison with other Federal States, Lower Saxony is performing "scandalously badly". The Marburger Bund is therefore once again calling on the state to step up its efforts and finally turn the promises of recent years into action. "The often-cited quota for rural doctors only leads to one side of the table being pulled. It conceals the fact that if this planning strategy is maintained, rural doctors will only be able to send their patients to hospitals without doctors in future," Wollenberg continued.
Press release Marburger Bund

Mark Barjenbruch, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Lower Saxony, calls this a "fatal mistake". The state is clearly making savings in the wrong place here and no more time should be wasted. Barjenbruch: "The expansion of the EMS is essential in order to attract young doctors for comprehensive GP and specialist care in Lower Saxony. All support programmes for young doctors are doomed to failure if there is no additional capacity for first-year students of human medicine in Lower Saxony."
KVN press release

The Hartmannbund has also criticised the state government. Chair Prof Dr Anke Lesinski-Schiedat speaks of a "setback for Lower Saxony as a medical location". The state is thus saying goodbye to its promised plan to increase the number of medical study places by 200. This will not remain without consequences for the medical care of the population in the medium to long term.
Press release Hartmannbund

"Now is the time to send a strong signal in favour of strengthening healthcare in Lower Saxony. The DRK Landesverband Oldenburg e.V. supports the endeavour to further expand the number of study places at the European Medical School. To this end, an increase in the state allocation must now be anchored in the next budget of the state of Lower Saxony," wrote Helmut Gels, President of the DRK Landesverband Oldenburg, to Economics Minister Bernd Althusmann in February 2021. The situation in the region is already difficult - there is a lack of medical staff: from emergency medical care and medical support for blood donation appointments to the recruitment of medical staff in the DRK's mother and child care centres. The core problem is that the existing training structures are undersized. "For years, Lower Saxony has been dependent on the influx of doctors from abroad in order to meet existing needs. There are currently only 801 medical study places in Lower Saxony, which means that not even 50 per cent of the demand for doctors can be met by 2030," said Gels. In the north-west, the situation is even more serious: "800 potential graduates in Oldenburg by 2030 are in contrast to the need for 5,500 new doctors in the region." For the President of the DRK regional association, the healthcare system in Lower Saxony is "at a crossroads", and his call to politicians: "The planned expansion of University Medicine Oldenburg must be implemented now!"

Letter dated 3 February 2021 / Contact: Helmut Gels, President of the DRK Landesverband Oldenburg e.V.

The clinical partners of University Medicine Oldenburg - Pius-Hospital, Klinikum Oldenburg, Evangelisches Krankenhaus and Karl-Jaspers-Klinik - have issued an open letter calling on the state government to reverse its decision and send a positive signal. University medicine is "a cornerstone of healthcare in the entire Weser-Ems region", the importance of which has "once again become clear", especially during the current pandemic. "The lack of funding for a new research and teaching building not only thwarts a clear commitment to University Medicine Oldenburg, but also to the sustainable development of the region and thus, in the long term, of the state of Lower Saxony."
Open letter from the clinical partners

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Lower Saxony Medical Association believes that the state should hold on to the teaching and research building for University Medicine Oldenburg instead of saving it on these grounds: "Especially during the coronavirus crisis, we have seen how important it is to provide the population with secure medical care," emphasises Prof. Dr Martina Wenker, President of the Medical Association. "We already have a shortage of doctors in the Public Health Departments, in outpatient care and in hospitals." Without new premises for teaching and research, the expansion of study places in Oldenburg cannot be realised as planned, meaning that Lower Saxony is heading towards a "blatant shortage of doctors". Within ten years, almost a quarter of doctors across the state will reach retirement age, emphasised Wenker.
Press release ÄKN

The Marburger Bund Niedersachsen speaks of an "urgently needed investment in the future" and calls on the state government to ensure the further expansion of University Medicine Oldenburg in the upcoming state budget. "Lower Saxony urgently needs more medical study places in order to secure medical care in the long term and counteract the existing shortage of doctors," emphasises First Chair Hans Martin Wollenberg. "This also includes building and financing the urgently needed research and teaching building in Oldenburg." Sensible financing and good teaching conditions are "indispensable". "Saving here means saving in the wrong place," said Wollenberg.
PM Marburger Bund

The Hartmannbund in Lower Saxony believes that the state government has a responsibility, not least for the medical students already enrolled. "Questioning financing during the course of studies is absolutely unacceptable," said state chairwoman Prof Dr Anke Lesinski-Schiedat . In Oldenburg, there is still a lack of research space promised to professors for academic appointments, adds Johannes Stalter, deputy Chair of the Hartmannbund's Medical Students Committee, who is himself enrolled on the Oldenburg model degree programme in human medicine. Other professorships could not be filled due to a lack of structural and financial resources. According to Stalter, all of this runs counter to the recommendation of the German Council of Science and Humanities. "The unapproved money has a massive impact not only on the upcoming increase in study places, but also on the prospective doctors already studying in Oldenburg and the doctors teaching there."
Statement from the Hartmannbund

For the State Association of the German Red Cross (DRK) in Oldenburg, the future of University Medicine Oldenburg is directly linked to the economic prospects of the entire north-west: "Good medical care and the accompanying scientific development are indispensable for maintaining and, above all, developing the economy in this region," emphasised President Helmut Gels and appealed to the state government to include the funding for the teaching and research building in the 2021 budget as planned. Gels, who was mayor of Vechta until 2019, reported that the medical care provided by the university medical centre in the region, which is both sustainable and of high quality, is a key location factor for companies. In addition, the coronavirus crisis has shown that Lower Saxony should also be broadly positioned in non-medical terms in order to respond "appropriately and regionally" to future, comparable requirements.
Open letter DRK