Inland
Keystone-SDA | Montag, 05. August 2024
Collaboration among pediatricians in urban areas is easier, said Marc Sidler, president of the professional association of pediatricians. (Archive photo)
According to the professional association, the shortage of pediatricians in Switzerland varies greatly from region to region. Without family doctors, children in rural areas could no longer be adequately cared for, said the association’s president.
Due to a lack of data, it is difficult to quantify the shortage across Switzerland, said the president of the professional association of pediatricians, Marc Sidler, in an interview with Tamedia. It is assumed that several hundred pediatricians are missing.
It is not recorded how many children and young people are cared for by family doctors. There are also too few of them in rural areas, said the association president. It is also difficult to find a successor for a pediatric practice. In urban areas, cooperation – for example with a nearby children’s hospital – is easier.
The problems in finding a successor are also related to the younger generation’s desire for part-time work, said Sidler. Male pediatricians work an average of four days a week, female pediatricians three days. The proportion of women in pediatrics is two-thirds. Therefore, more trained pediatricians in practice are needed, said the association president.
Bureaucracy without added value
The association hopes for more support “on the front lines” from the Federal Office of Public Health. “You get the impression that obstacles are constantly being put in your way – with all the regulations, controls and inspections in which you can see no added value,” said Sidler. The time spent on this is missing from the patients.
The bureaucracy is evident in the medical certificates. Depending on the employer, a certificate is now required very quickly, said Sidler. Apprentices sometimes need a certificate for absences due to illness on the first day. “This is a trend that, in my opinion, is going in the wrong direction,” said the association president.
