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The planning work on the future of St.Gallen hospitals has begun: the steering committee promises tentative results until the spring of 2019 – and seeks a dialogue with the population. However, until 2020 there is a solution that the Parliament can discuss, it will be 2020.
The Management Committee at the first appearance: Benedikt Würth, CFO, Felix Sennhauser, President of the Spitalverbunde, Heidi Hanselmann, Director of Health (Head), Yvonne Biri Massler, Member of the Board of Directors Administration of Spitalverbunde and Marc Mächler, Bauchef. (Photo: Ralph Ribi)
There is no quick answer to the fate of the St.Gallen hospitals: the steering committee, made up of members of the government and the Spitalverbunde administrative council, has clearly indicated Monday to the media. Working on hospital strategy is complex and time consuming. Parliament is expected to receive a consultation proposal in 2020.
The project is divided into three phases. Over the next six to eight months, there are basic notions. The approximate concept of the board of directors, which proposes four places instead of nine and offers an entrepreneurial perspective, must be broadened in depth and with different perspectives. How do hospital closures affect the state budget, region, hospital society and health insurance premiums? How does it ensure equity between regions in terms of access to hospital care? What are the economic consequences of intercantonal hospital planning? How realistic are the markets in ongoing hospital construction projects? Can anyone shake the referendum in November 2014? These and other topics are being analyzed. The results of this first phase of the project are expected to be available in the spring of 2019. The steering committee will then determine for which hospital the issues will be addressed
The economist Monika Engler heads the project team
In the second phase, which will take another five to eight months, implementation issues will be central. The concepts of supply and use – inpatients and outpatients – should be reported by site, as well as the business and organizational models of the business and the financial effects. Results from Phase 2 include cost-benefit analyzes, comparisons, and reviews of the impact on hospital businesses, regions, population, and so on. The third phase is followed by the writing of the message and advice to Parliament. "The total duration of the project is still open," says CFO Benedikt Würth. "Individual phases can overlap."
The project team, who will now work, is led by Monika Engler. She is a lecturer in Economics at the University of Applied Sciences of Chur and Project Manager at the Center for Economic Policy Research. Engler runs the hospital project in a 50 percent pensum and is supported by experts from the Department of Health. She previously worked for the St. Gallen administration: From 2009 to 2014, she was responsible for financial planning and accompanied the austerity plans. Engler is a citizen of St.Gallen and lives in Oberschan.
The Steering Committee visits the constituencies
Within the project team, eight groups work on a sub-project and are led by experts from the associations and the hospital administration. The eight sub-projects have the following titles: open questions, law, detailed concept, alternative proposals, public service, financial aspects, message and communication. Speaking of communication: Here is the steering committee on the offensive. "We will visit all constituencies until February 2019 and discuss with the population," said Marc Mächler. Data and locations would be communicated early. The public can also find out about the website www.spitalzukunft.sg.ch, where documents and answers can already be found.
Immediate measures remain reserved
Even though the project's work lasts until 2020: It does not say that everything stays the same for hospitals until then. In the coming months, the steering committee wishes to discuss immediate measures. What that could mean about it, members kept it covered on Monday. According to Felix Sennhauser, president of the Spitalverwaltungsrat, the question is whether it needs operational or even personal adjustments. "But it's clear that we will not make any decisions that create constraints with regard to the draft strategy."
If people will vote on the hospital strategy in the end is still open today. Heidi Hanselmann, head of health, expresses it in an interview with our newspaper for a survey. That's what it's all about, but depends on the decisions of Parliament.
The Special Commission gathers questions
At the June session, the Cantonal Council of St. Gallen set up a commission to accompany the development of the hospital strategy. The 21-member committee has already met for the first time and had an exchange of views with Head of Health Heidi Hanselmann and Bauchef Marc Mächler. At the next meeting, on 14 August, the Commission will adopt a questionnaire and clarify its own mandate in detail. The Spital Strategy project steering committee will regularly inform the Commission of intermediate results. (Av)
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