Hamburg – The six Local Health Centers (LGZ) in Hamburg are perceived by the city’s residents as a vital element of healthcare provision. This conclusion comes from a recently published evaluation of the services offered. Consequently, the Hamburg Social Authority plans to secure funding for the LGZ until the end of 2030, increasing the annual funding to 200,000 Euros per location.
Social Authority Increases Support for Local Health Centers
“Good healthcare must reach people in all walks of life – regardless of social background, place of residence, or language. This is precisely where the Local Health Centers come in: they help people find the right support and build trust,” said Hamburg’s Social Senator Melanie Schlotzhauer (SPD). She also emphasized that the centers help relieve the burden on general practitioners’ offices and other actors in the healthcare system.
Since 2020, the Social Authority has been funding LGZs in socio-economically disadvantaged districts. The core of LGZ work involves close cooperation between at least one general practitioner’s practice, a Community Health Nurse (an academically qualified nursing professional), and social and psychosocial counseling services. Additionally, there are collaborations with nursing services and other health and social services such as addiction counseling and migration work.
Evaluation Highlights High Reach and Acceptance
The evaluation, conducted by inav – Institute for Applied Healthcare Research in Berlin and the Aqua-Institut in Göttingen, attests to the centers’ high reach and acceptance. Within an observation period of approximately one year, 7,755 consultations for about 2,700 people were documented. This was supplemented by 2,463 referrals and 1,538 assignments to other services.
According to the working group, the LGZs primarily serve as a navigation and bridging function between medical and social care. General practitioners also reported relief through the counseling services.
The centers are met with great approval from users, according to the evaluation: 96.8 percent of respondents stated that they felt understood in their consultations. 98 percent would recommend their respective LGZ. The evaluation particularly highlights the combination of open consultation hours and appointment-based services as a strength.
Diverse Needs Addressed by LGZs
The range of concerns extends far beyond medical questions. Of the total 10,791 documented concerns, 40.4 percent related to medical issues covered by statutory health insurance. In contrast, 59.6 percent concerned other areas – such as housing, finances, care, or language-related problems. The evaluation considers this combination of health and social issues to be an essential component of the LGZ concept.
Limitations were observed, among other things, in complex language barriers and severe psychosocial problems. Professional language mediation is not yet permanently financed everywhere, and capacities for specialized psychosocial counseling are sometimes insufficient.
Recommendations for Future Development
For further development, the working group therefore recommends, among other things, an even stronger integration with primary medical care, structurally secured professional language mediation, and uniform digital documentation systems. Medical care, nursing, and social work should be spatially bundled as much as possible and linked through regular case discussions.
The evaluation also makes it clear that the centers cannot address all healthcare problems in the districts. A shortage of skilled workers and a lack of medical or social services limit their capabilities. Furthermore, legal regulations regarding the role and authority of Community Health Nurses are still missing. The Bosch Health Campus, as a cooperation partner of the Hamburg Social Authority, commissioned and financed the evaluation.
Source: aerzteblatt.de
