Minister wants more accessible medical practices

Health Minister calls for more accessible medical practices

04/13/2015

Disabled associations have been complaining for years that many doctors' practices in Germany are not suitable for people with disabilities. Often, even minimum standards would not be met and accessibility is rare. Bavaria's Health Minister Melanie Huml now wants to change that.

More disabled medical practices
The Bavarian Minister of Health Melanie Huml (CSU) calls according to a message from the news agency dpa more disabled medical practices in the Free State. The politician told the German Press Agency that although special facilities such as gynecological special outpatient clinics for wheelchair users in Dachau and Erlangen closed a supply gap. „But I would like to see more in the light of a paradigm shift towards inclusion „perfectly normal“ Services in the health sector are made accessible and adapted to the special needs of disabled people.“

Disability associations have been lamenting grievances for a long time
For a long time disability associations complain that many practices are not accessible to wheelchair users. Already a single step in front of the front door could be an insurmountable obstacle. But also visually impaired or cognitively restricted people encounter barriers in many places. According to the Ministry of Health, only 266 of Bavaria's 1,826 specialist physicians were in practices that, in their own estimation, are barrier-free. The Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bayerns is responsible for ensuring the medical care of the disabled.

Desirable standards are often not achieved
Accessibility is an increasingly important topic in everyday life, not least because of demographic change and the aging society. Therefore, it is all the more regrettable that even in medical practices the desirable standards are often not achieved. And not just in Bavaria, but in the whole of Germany. Experts expect that the problem could get even worse. (Ad)

Image: Ligament spine center