German Bundestag, Plenarprotokoll 19/234, pp.
30337-30338.
Herr President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.
Herr Riebsamen, it was interesting, what you have said of
all that is worthy of remark. Before all things, you have said: The numbers
recede. – Unfortunately, you have not exactly said which numbers recede.
Each year die some 30,000 people of a germ acquired in
hospital, and 90,000 people of a serious infection, of a sepsis. And up to
today, exactly this number has not receded. For over 15 years you are in the
responsible government and nothing but certainly nothing has improved in this
line. Sepsis thereby becomes the third most frequent cause of death, and in
regards children even the second most frequent. No wonder that 62 percent of
the population fear being infected with such germs in hospital. There is no
lack of initiatives for a solution from policy and professional associations;
that we have just heard.
Yet what was hitherto implemented? That we have asked of the
Federal government in a major inquiry. The evaluation of our major inquiry
indicates spirited steps. It was also interesting how you interpret DART [German
antibiotics resistance strategy]. We interpret it wholly the opposite. You
speak of successes; we see that DART 2020 has as a goal displaying the 2020
results. What does the Federal government do? You make DART 2030 out of DART
2020 – and are done. And generally: We see many initiatives, big and small
dribbles of money sprays here and there, yet – as was said – results? Not a
sign. I can only repeat: The number of deaths has, despite all, despite all
interventions, despite all results, up to now not receded.
On that account, the most important point of our motions [Drucksachen 19/29780, 30486, 21882, 28076]
is a proposal, which we take up as a fundamental and not as estimates, to
finally be able to arrive at concrete numbers – and this is largely financial
neutral.
According to §23 of the infection prevention act, the
leaders of medical institutions are obligated to the documentation of
nosocomial infections and must store these for ten years. We demand that all
data gathered since 2011 be retroactively sent by the respective State health
officials to a Federal institute which therefrom draws up a yearly atlas of
nosocomial infections in the Federal Republic.
It may at once be seen whether the problem is homogeneously
distributed and, for example, [whether] hospital financing, the connection with
antibiotics in all areas of use, as well as the development of medications and
vaccines need be supported. Or, in indicating hotspots, to then apply local
measures for multi-resistant germs, better trained cleaning staff,
strengthening of medical education and continuing education, as well as
inclusion in the teaching plans. To implement this alone, according to the
reckoning of the professional associations, would save the lives of some 30,000
people per year. Yet besides mutual assigning of guilt, nothing happens.
In that regard, I find in my archive a notable interview of
Herr colleague Lauterbach, who I unfortunately do not see here today.
Andrew Ullmann (FDP): There is an interview with Lanz.
I want, with permission of the President, to cite from the
interview. Herr Lauterbach said:
A very, very important problem in
all hospital reforms of the last years, at the level of the Bunderat as well as
at the government level, when they have co-governed, was the FDP. The FDP has
been the spearpoint of the hospital lobby in politics and through its work in
coalitions and through its watering-down of already concluded laws in important
points in the last 15 years has had an essential share therein that we have not
come much further in hospital hygiene. That unfortunately needs be said.
Götz Frömming (AfD): 30,000!
Now all of that may be correct. Yet presently, the SPD itself was for four years responsible! And what have they achieved?
Götz Frömming (AfD): Also nothing!
We are waiting.
There are only two parameters which really count, and those are the numbers of the sick and of the dead; and both numbers – I can only ever repeat it – have to this day not receded one jot; on the contrary. Compared to the potent financial and media expenditure in regards Corona, with daily reports of death, including bankruptcy, bad luck and breakdowns, this must bring the blush of shame to the face of the entire government.
There are, ladies and gentlemen, no two kinds of death. And as for the hospital germs: Each death is one death too many. You will also again reject these motions. Yet despite that, conduct yourselves in this sense: This is my urgent request to you all at the end of my political mandate, that you continue to bear responsibility for healthcare policy.
Good luck and many thanks.
(The members of the AfD rise.)
[trans: tem]