Munich Clinic overhaul cuts emergency department waits

The Munich Clinic is reorganising emergency care at its four hospitals, with early results in Harlaching including shorter stays and fewer patients waiting. BR reports that the clinic aims to improve care for patients and working conditions for staff.

At the Harlaching hospital, 80 per cent of patients are now seen immediately, according to Florian Lemmink, head of the clinic’s emergency departments. The waiting room was empty during a media visit, and Lemmink said it is now empty about 80 per cent of the time.

The department is treating more patients each day than before the new building opened, with numbers rising from about 70 to more than 100. Average time spent in the emergency department has fallen from five hours to 2.9 hours.

The changes include daily staff training, standardised procedures across all four hospitals, closer cooperation with specialist departments and wards, and improvements to diagnostics and triage. The clinic has also introduced a consistent approach to welcoming and assessing patients.

The project is led by Tim Flasbeck, an emergency medicine specialist who previously reorganised the emergency department at a hospital in Cottbus. He said the transition is placing a heavy burden on staff, but pointed to the Cottbus hospital’s waiting list for job openings as evidence that a well-organised department can also attract workers.

The Munich Clinic said it had to notify the rescue coordination centre that it was over capacity on about 200 days in 2024, meaning ambulance crews could not bring injured patients there. Such notifications have fallen by almost 60 per cent under the new system.

After Harlaching, the clinic is introducing the model at its hospitals in Bogenhausen, Schwabing and Neuperlach. The project is planned to run for three years.