Hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) are anticipating the closure of several maternity wards. Matthias Blum, head of the NRW Hospital Association, informed the Rheinische Post that eight hospitals have closed their maternity departments by 2025, three closures are currently known in the running year, and further closures have been announced in two other cities in the region.
Blum attributes these trends to recent federal reform plans. Hospital management teams across the state have spent weeks drafting drastic savings programs set to take effect in 2027. Departments that cannot sustain themselves economically due to insufficient remuneration, such as maternity services, pediatrics, emergency rooms, and palliative care, are primarily being scrutinized. He noted that the long-standing practice of cross-subsidization is no longer viable under the federal government’s austerity directives.
Financial pressures are intense. The inflation compensation for clinics expires on October 31, 2026. Furthermore, the federal government’s GKV Savings Act mandates that hospitals make an additional €4.6 billion in savings. Blum warned that hospitals cannot absorb this massive revenue loss, which averages eight percent. For clinics in NRW alone, this amounts to up to two billion euros less revenue next year.
According to the NRW Ministry of Health, there are currently 117 maternity clinics in the region, down from 153 in 2017. A ministry spokesperson told the editorial team that the local provision of maternity services remains at a good level. Nevertheless, the state government confirmed that it continues to support the operating costs of smaller maternity hospitals in 2026 to ensure comprehensive coverage across the region.
