Elbe-Elster District Council: No delay for new central hospital!

Elbe-Elster District Council: No delay for new central hospital!

The Elbe-Elster district remains on track to build a new central hospital. This decision was confirmed at the district council on June 16, 2025 by a clear vote of 26 representatives against a proposal from the Free Voters and other concerned parties. They had called for the plans for the 3+1 model to be stopped and the existing locations to be permanently maintained instead. But the vast majority saw the long-awaited innovation as necessary to sustainably improve medical care in the district. Two MPs abstained from voting in the crucial meeting, while the employees of the Elbe-Elster Clinic drew attention to their demands with a protest in front of the district council. Niederlausitz Current reports on the unanimous stance of the works council and the clinic management, who spoke out against abandoning the plans.

What is behind these plans? The district council confirmed the decision to create a modern central hospital in April 2025. The conversion of the three previous clinic locations in Elsterwerda, Finsterwalde and Herzberg into outpatient and inpatient health centers is part of a comprehensive structural reform. This is intended to ensure that the necessary medical care remains close to home in the future by pooling skills and personnel. Press releases from the Brandenburg Ministry of Health explain that the Minister of Health Britta Müller visited the site in Finsterwalde to find out about the current situation and the status of the reforms.

The new central hospital

The vision of a central hospital includes a wide range of services and modern working and care conditions. Detailed plans are to be drawn up by the end of August for the central building, which is planned to have around 300 beds. The aim is to secure funding as part of the nationwide hospital reform. An important part of this reform is the Hospital Transformation Fund, which provides up to 50 billion euros for structural changes between 2026 and 2035. KPMG emphasizes that telemedicine networks are also worthy of funding under certain conditions.

The reform sought in Brandenburg aims to strengthen regional health care and also rely on modern, digital solutions in rural areas. This transformation also requires extensive renovation and construction work as well as investments in new technologies and training capacities.

A look into the future

The decline in inpatients at the Elbe-Elster Klinikum - from 18,321 in 2019 to 12,089 in 2024 - shows that the demands on healthcare are changing. Nevertheless, the need for this change is undisputed and the new strategy could bring much-needed improvement. The Finsterwalde location alone has 171 fully inpatient beds, but the realignment is intended to make the offerings more effective and needs-oriented.

In order to have a good handle on applying for funding from the transformation fund, it is important that all proposed measures are sustainable and offer a positive continuation prognosis. It will be exciting to see how the plans develop further and what new opportunities will arise for healthcare in the region.