# Rural Germans suffer from lack of doctors



## Tellus (Nov 24, 2013)

Access to healthcare and the length of waiting lists are still determined by county and area. Living in remote areas has a detrimental impact on German´s access to healthcare. Germans who live in regional and remote areas are getting sicker more often and waiting longer to see a doctor than their city counterparts, a study has found.

While the health of Germans is improving in many areas, there is still a big gap based on where you live, according to the latest report on healthcare from the German ministery for healthcare.

Many doctors are now in pensionable age without any replacement for its practice, it 
will be closed for ever. A big chance for doctors with licence to practice medicine to get a fully equipped practice inclusive lists of regular patients.
The regional health administrations are waiting for interested applicants.


----------



## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Tellus, is the point of your post to encourage qualified foreign doctors to apply for posts in rural areas? those posts that can't be filled by native qualified ones? Is it really that much of a problem?


----------



## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

James3214 said:


> Tellus, is the point of your post to encourage qualified foreign doctors to apply for posts in rural areas? those posts that can't be filled by native qualified ones? Is it really that much of a problem?


It is indeed and has been for a few years.

Rural communities offer quite a few incentives to doctors willing to be a country doctor and to stay - cheaper building plots for instance. 

The only problem is that rural communities are just that: rural. Foreign doctors have to really make a huge effort to integrate and they might be the only non-EEA expat (or actually, the only expat at all). Knowledge of the German language has to be absolutely excellent as rural communities are feeling the flight of young qualified people into the cities and older generations don't tend to speak foreign languages.

If a doctor is willing to learn the language and deal with life in the country, it can be extremely rewarding, as the local doctor is an important person in the community.


----------



## Tellus (Nov 24, 2013)

Thanks ALKB, can´t explain it better.

As you said, beside pastor, mayor and chemist the doctors are dignitaries in rural communities, especially in Southern Germany.
But not only for doctors are great demands - for qualified, certified nurses too, f.e. nurses for the elderly.


----------



## michael.anderton (Feb 24, 2014)

A lot of German doctors are working in the UK part time on the weekends, working mainly in NHS trust hospitals


----------

