At the University Medicine Oldenburg’s Parliamentary Evening, Minister for Science Falko Mohrs even held out the prospect of more than 200 places for first-year students – University President Bruder is pressing for a budget decision.
The delegation from University Medicine Oldenburg (UMO), which had travelled to Hanover on Wednesday evening for what is now the fifth Parliamentary Evening to once again lobby members of the state parliament for adequate financing for the UMO, was able to take several positive signals back with them to Oldenburg. “I understand what my task is,” said Minister for Science Falko Mohrs. He left no doubt that the planned increase to 200 first-year student places at the University of Oldenburg is firmly on the agenda. Admittedly, it will be a real feat – both for those involved on the ground and for the state government, which must provide the necessary funding – but: “We have set the course for this international project, which is unique in Europe. We must, and we intend to, see this through to the end.”
Mohrs reported on close cooperation between the three university medical centres in Lower Saxony – University Medicine Oldenburg, Hanover and Göttingen – during which, amongst other things, a joint strategy for developing the medical degree programme had been drawn up over the past few months. One objective is to create more places for medical students in Lower Saxony overall – even more than previously planned. “We are talking to all the sites about how we can successfully expand beyond this,” said Mohrs. Places for first-year students are urgently needed.
This view is shared by Hanna Naber, President of the State Parliament. “Only with a strong university medical service, which is both adequately and sustainably funded, can we overcome the challenges in Lower Saxony,” she said. All those involved agree that the groundwork for this must be laid now.
This view is also shared by Prof. Dr Andrea Morgner Miehlke, Medical Director and Deputy Chair of the Board at Oldenburg Hospital, the largest clinical partner in the UMO. “We are engaged in a very constructive dialogue with the state government,” she said, reporting on discussions with both the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Social Affairs. “I am confident that, together, we will get the relevant matters off the ground,” she added. After all, every euro invested in a university hospital directly benefits the region.
On Wednesday evening, the North-West region was represented by Sven Ambrosy, District Administrator of Friesland and Chair of the Assembly of the Oldenburg District Association, which comprises six districts and three independent towns. “The University Medical Centre strengthens the local area and the region. It is a genuine, key location factor,” he emphasised. The UMO had therefore been a project of civil society and the regional economy from the very beginning.
The economic importance of healthcare provision for the region was also highlighted by EWE’s Chief Executive, Stefan Dohler. North-western Lower Saxony is at the eye of the storm of the impending transformations in the energy sector. With its significance, particularly for wind energy generation, it has the potential to become the “Ruhr region of tomorrow – but a clean one”. “To achieve this, however, we need a great many workers from outside the region,” he explained. Good local medical care plays a particularly important role in the region’s attractiveness. Excellent healthcare – together with other location factors – could create a pull effect that draws the necessary workforce to the north-west.
Dr Jürgen Peter, Chief Executive of AOK Lower Saxony, explained that UMO already possesses many qualities that make it an excellent healthcare provider in the region. Taken together, for example, the number of beds in the UMO’s partner hospitals exceeds the corresponding figures in Hanover and Göttingen. “Oldenburg is an equal player in university medicine,” he emphasised. In some service areas – such as care for premature babies – the region is a leader. At the same time, however, Peter also emphasised the importance of the UMO for rural areas. The AOK supports the call for more medical school places in the north-west, not least because of the early practical training provided, including in rural GP practices. “We hope that this will strengthen the provision of care in rural areas through general practitioners.”
The university, hospitals and the region once again demonstrated their close ties with one another at the Parliamentary Evening. “We will convey this sense of ‘we’ very clearly to Hanover,” announced University President Prof. Dr Ralph Bruder, alluding to the recently launched UMO campaign “Doctors don’t just fall from the sky”. Through this campaign, the University Medical Centre is calling on citizens in the north-west to lend their support to the demand for adequate financing by signing the petition, and thus to join forces in combating the looming shortage of doctors.
All signatures are to be handed over to Minister-President Stephan Weil before the budget negotiations begin in June. After all, there have been frequent expressions of support for the UMO in the past. “It would be even better, however, if we were now to see figures in a draft budget,” emphasised Bruder. Then the UMO would be in a position to deliver quickly. “If the 2025 budget allocates the funds mentioned, we will welcome 200 students in the 26/27 winter semester,” he announced. However, this would also mean, in turn, that there could be no further expansion during this legislative period if the forthcoming budget fails to take Oldenburg’s needs into account.
