Magdeburg University Hospital: The first state-funded hospice and palliative care network in Saxony-Anhalt is set to be launched on 1 January 2027.
On 3 September, District Administrator Markus Bauer and Thomas Pfeiffer, Managing Director of the Medical Centre (MVZ) at Cracau Hospital, part of Magdeburg University Medical Centre gGmbH, signed the agreement to establish the hospice and palliative care network in accordance with Section 39d(3) of the Social Code Book V (SGB V). In doing so, the Salzlandkreis is laying the foundations for coordinated and integrated care for the seriously ill and dying in the region.
“Providing high-quality care for our population is an integral part of our ‘Salzlandkreis 2030’ vision for the future. This also involves ensuring that people with a serious, incurable illness have access to care that combines medical, nursing, psychosocial and pastoral support. “With the hospice and palliative care network, we are creating a structure that strengthens precisely this collaboration and benefits those affected as well as their relatives,” says District Administrator Markus Bauer. He thanks the Medical Care Centre (MVZ) at Cracau Hospital, part of Magdeburg University Medical Centre gGmbH, for its cooperation.
In this context, the District Administrator also refers to the network that the Salzlandkreis has established with the help of a mental health coordinator. “We always work together with our partners to create the best possible conditions.”
The Salzlandkreis is providing 15,000 euros for the establishment and coordination of the network in the coming year. A grant of the same amount is to be provided by the statutory health insurance funds.”
Statutory health insurance funds are set to provide funding of the same amount.
By co-funding the network coordination, the Salzlandkreis has become the first district in Saxony-Anhalt to actively support the establishment of such a coordinated care structure. There are currently 87 funded hospice and palliative care networks across Germany. Until now, Saxony-Anhalt was one of the few federal states without a corresponding network structure.
The Specialised Outpatient Palliative Care (SAPV) unit at the Medical Centre (MVZ) of the Cracau Clinic, part of Universitätsmedizin Magdeburg gGmbH, is responsible for the independent coordination of the network. It will support the development of the network, link the participating organisations, offer specialist advice and promote regular dialogue between the various areas of care.
“Good hospice and palliative care can only be achieved through close cooperation. Our aim is to pool existing expertise, identify gaps in care at an early stage and work together to develop sustainable solutions for the people of the Salzlandkreis district,” explains Thomas Pfeiffer, Managing Director of the Medical Centre (MVZ) at Cracau Hospital, part of the University Medical Centre Magdeburg gGmbH.
One of the network’s tasks is to further develop the care provided to people with advanced and incurable illnesses. To this end, GPs and specialists, outpatient care services, residential care homes, hospice services, hospitals, pastoral care and other partners in hospice and palliative care are being more closely linked.
The network coordination team will organise regular network meetings and workshops, promote professional exchange and further develop existing care structures. Particular emphasis is placed on improving interfaces between the participating organisations and on better coordination of care processes. The focus is always on quality of life and providing the best possible care for patients, as well as supporting their relatives.
The development of the network is further supported by the expansion of Specialised Outpatient Palliative Care (SAPV) in the Salzlandkreis. With the opening of a further SAPV centre in Aschersleben, the Cracau Hospital’s Medical Centre (MVZ) complements the existing centres in Staßfurt and Schönebeck, thereby strengthening local palliative care provision in the region. With the Salzlandkreis, the initiative has gained its first local authority partner in Saxony-Anhalt – a collaboration that sends a strong signal and is set to be extended to other districts in future.