Overview
- The Altmark-Klinikum in Gardelegen, which deregisters its obstetrics from regional care on Thursday, May 14, will stop taking new maternity patients while those already admitted continue treatment.
- Hospital leaders cite an acute lack of specialist doctors and midwives that hiring drives could not fix, with the state saying fewer than 100 births a year also erode staff routine.
- Births at the site fell from 383 in 2016 to 273 in 2021 and only 93 in 2025, underscoring the steep drop in demand.
- Expectant mothers are being directed to larger hospitals in Stendal, Salzwedel and Magdeburg, with Helmstedt an option in the southwest, which for many means drives longer than 40 minutes.
- Other departments at Gardelegen remain open and outpatient pediatric care runs through a local specialist center, after years of limits that began when inpatient pediatrics closed in 2022.