At its meeting on 2 June 2021, the University Senate of the University of Oldenburg addressed the state government's failure to increase the number of human medicine study places at the University of Oldenburg. In an open letter to Minister President Stephan Weil, Health Minister Daniela Behrens, Finance Minister Reinhold Hilbers and Science Minister Björn Thümler, the committee called for the rapid expansion of medical study places from 80 to initially 120 and ultimately 200 per year. To this end, it is essential to anchor the financing for the next stage of 80 to 120 study places in the 2022/23 double budget. "The University Senate sees an acute need for action, as the north-west of Lower Saxony will otherwise lose valuable years to secure its healthcare provision. We do not consider this responsible," it says.

The state government is aware that young doctors are already urgently needed in the north-west. It is also aware that the region will lose a further 2,400 doctors this decade due to ageing. 2.5 million people who live and work in the north-west will be directly affected in their healthcare provision. "We all know that there is only one university medical location in Lower Saxony that can realise the required increase in medical study places for the north-west: University Medicine Oldenburg. (...) As senators of the University of Oldenburg, as citizens of the north-west, we therefore call on you to do your utmost to ensure that 120 young people can begin their medical studies at the University of Oldenburg as early as next year."

Statement of the University Senate of 2 June 2021

"Great incomprehension and concern" has been expressed by the University Senate at the state government's plan not to include the funds earmarked for the teaching and research building in the budget. "This decision thwarts the outstanding development achievements of the University of Oldenburg and its cooperation partners," emphasised the University Senate in a statement, referring to the positive vote by the German Council of Science and Humanities last year.
University Senate statement

The Scientific Advisory Board of University Medicine Oldenburg believes that without the planned construction of the new teaching and research building, "the foundation of university medicine, which has been built with great success to date" is jeopardised. As the interface between research and patient care and as a platform for translational research and thus medical progress, this building is the prerequisite for filling newly established professorships and retaining professors already appointed. The expansion of university medicine requires the appropriate infrastructure, emphasise the six renowned medical experts advising the School of Medicine. They refer to the "innovative concept for cross-sectoral care of the population" presented by the School, which is intended to sustainably improve medical care in rural areas and strengthen the healthcare professions.
Advisory board statement

The University Council of the University of Oldenburg has called on Minister President Stephan Weil to act quickly. In view of the high demand for places to study medicine and the need for doctors in the north-west in particular, he believes that "stylising competition between the three locations in Lower Saxony into a rivalry" is wrong, according to the Chairman of the University Council, Jörg Waskönig. Without a new building, it is unclear where 200 new Oldenburg medical students per year will be able to attend their classes in future. At the same time, he fears consequences for medical research: where professors had been promised appropriate research institutions in the recruitment interview, "all we can currently show are interesting building sketches, while the start of construction has been postponed indefinitely". Lower Saxony's reputation is also at stake vis-à-vis the Dutch partners in the model degree programme, which is unique in Europe, if it does not keep its promises.
Open letter from the University Council

The victims of the state government's decision are "first and foremost the patients in our state, whose health is being jeopardised by the shortage of doctors", said the Department for Human Medicine at the University of Oldenburg in an open letter to the Minister President. The undersigned directors - human geneticist Prof. Dr John Neidhardt, ENT University Clinic Director Prof. Dr Andreas Radeloff and neurologist and University Clinic Director Prof. Dr Karsten Witt - emphasise that as newly appointed clinical professors, they can already provide evidence of this shortage of doctors. "This shortage is a reality and will be further exacerbated by the decision against the teaching and research building." The directors of the Department also see the cross-border cooperation with Groningen University Medicine being called into question - despite the fact that the Ministry of Science in Hanover has recognised the lack of 19,000 square metres of teaching and research space.
Letter from the Department for Human Medicine

The failure to provide funding for the new building is causing "great horror and incomprehension", not least among students at the School of Medicine in Oldenburg. They speak of a "breach of promise" on the part of politicians, as despite promises from the Ministry of Science and commitments from the state government, "there is obviously no desire to strengthen the local School of Medicine". They are convinced by the concept of the degree programme - the success of the graduates to date would prove both the idea and its implementation right. The teaching and research building is urgently needed to maintain this quality with a growing number of study places. "Even and especially in the current Covid-19 crisis, the already critical shortage of specialists in the healthcare sector is becoming even more apparent," said the students. Excellent young medical professionals are being trained at the Schools in Lower Saxony. "It seems more than irrational to us to make this resource unnecessarily scarce."
Statement from the student body