German Doctors Protest Against Work Overload

Thousands of doctors' offices will remain closed between Christmas and New Year due to a planned strike while respiratory diseases in Germany are increasing.

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"Wherever you look, almost every doctor's practice is currently massively overloaded," Dirk Heinrich, the chairman of the Virchowbund association, which represents the interests of all registered and outpatient doctors in the country.

Germany saw a wave of respiratory diseases in December, with the number of patients getting flu and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in particular on the rise. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases, one in ten people in the country had been sick before Christmas.

The number of COVID-19 infections in Germany has also increased, with the seniors being the most affected group. Of almost nine million recent viral infections, one in three was caused by a sub-variant of SARS-CoV-2.

"It is incomprehensible that there are calls to close practices at a time when many people are ill," Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Foundation for Patient Rights, criticized, stressing that the doctors' strike "particularly affects the old and vulnerable people."

However, the Virchowbund argued that the "systematic underfunding" was exacerbating the shortage of specialists in medical practices.

According to a recent study by PwC, the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in the country could grow to 1.8 million by 2035. Many are looking to switch their jobs, while only one in three doctors expect themselves to remain in the profession until retirement.

"The medical profession's demands are well known. They don't need to be presented again," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said, pointing out that a reform has already been worked on.