Persistent Doctor Shortage in Saxony: A Pressing Challenge for State Policy
The severe shortage of physicians in the German state of Saxony remains a grave problem and a significant obstacle for the state government. As Linke party leader Susanne Schaper states, "Many doctors are already working beyond retirement age to maintain the level of care. Access to medical care should not depend on where one lives." The proportion of elderly citizens is increasing, making adequate medical care even more crucial.
Schaper, a trained nurse, regularly monitors the physician supply in the state parliament. In 2024, significant gaps were again evident. In the town of Werdau, the supply of general practitioners was only 69.8%, while in Torgau it was 70.2% and in Reichenbach 72.4%. Other regions classified as "undersupplied" (with a supply rate below 80%) include Riesa (78.4%), Limbach-Oberfrohna (78.3%), and Stollberg (74.1%).
The supply rate is a key indicator of the quality of healthcare in a region. It is calculated as the ratio of the actual number of doctors to the target number. A supply rate of 100% indicates that the region has the appropriate number of doctors. In Saxony as a whole, the supply rate for general practitioners averaged 91.8% in 2024 (91.5% in the previous year), with 373 positions remaining vacant (388 in 2023).
The problem is particularly acute in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. In the Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien region, the supply rate was only 51.8% last year, while in the Südsachsen region it was 58.3%. The statewide average for child and adolescent psychiatrists was 78.5%. The situation is slightly better for nuclear medicine specialists, but the supply rate in Saxony still declined from 74.7% in 2023 to 69.2% in 2024.
"It is imperative to create more study places for human medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, and to recognize foreign degrees more quickly," Schaper demands. Medical education should be accessible to a broader range of qualified individuals. Instead of relying solely on high school grades for admission, factors such as social competence should also be taken into account.
"To incentivize doctors to establish or take over practices, the conditions need to be attractive. That is why it is a positive step that health insurance companies will soon cover almost every rendered service," Schaper told the German Press Agency. Bürocratic hurdles must be reduced, and compensation must be adjusted regularly.
"We also want to ensure that, in the event of illness, general practitioners are generally the first point of contact in order to use the resources of the healthcare system in the best possible way. The most important requirement is to consider all sectors together in the future and no longer to make separate policies for hospitals, general practitioners, medical specialists, outpatient clinics, or pharmacies," Schaper emphasizes.
