Wellness holiday on Sylt

In addition to sea air and sea water, our island has around 40 general practitioners and specialists are committed to ensuring that locals and guests are well. From ophthalmologists to urologists. And that doesn't even include dentists. Furthermore, Sylt has the Acute hospital, the Asklepios North Sea Clinic.  

Im Case of illness Contact a doctor's office or call the on-call medical service outside of office hours: Tel: 116 117

In case of life-threatening, usually sudden emergencies, dial: Tel.: 112

If things have to happen quickly, life-threatening illnesses or injuries of the Rescue service of the island of Sylt (Tel. 112)The German Red Cross operates four ambulances, one emergency ambulance, and two emergency medical vehicles on Sylt. If an emergency patient cannot be treated on the island, they can be taken to further care to a hospital on the mainland Rescue helicopters of the public air rescue service are stationed in Rendsburg-Schachtholm, Hohenlockstedt, Siblin and Niebüll, right on our doorstep, and are usually ready for use in the shortest possible time. According to the requirements of the state that is responsible for air rescue, a Medevac be ready for takeoff two minutes after receiving the alert. Added to this is the time required for things like weather checks and engine start-ups. It should be noted, however, that flight options and times may also depend on weather conditions.

According to the Kiel State Ministry of Health, a standard calculation of air rescue deployment areas states that in approx. 20 minutes flight a radius of approximately 70 km can be reached by rescue helicopter. Within this radius are, for example, the clinics of Flensburg and HusumThe emergency control centers in Schleswig-Holstein operate a state-wide, uniform treatment capacity check system to ensure that the patient can be transported to the nearest and most suitable hospital.

Since the Nordseeklinik maternity ward was closed in 2014, most pregnant women on Sylt spend at least the last 14 days before their due date on the mainland. There they use, for example, the Boarding house offers from the maternity clinics in Husum, Heide or Flensburg. Before and after Midwives and a gynecological practice on the island to accompany pregnant women and newborns. 

In case of complications or if a birth is announced unexpectedly too early, the Air rescue A procedure that had already proven successful before the maternity ward was closed and, according to the German Society for Patient Safety significantly contributes to the safety of mother and child. For its Secretary General, Hardy Müller, it is clear that the staffing required to optimally support a high-risk birth cannot be found in many small hospitals. Even if enough midwives and gynecologists were available, the question remains: what happens after the birth? Then specialists in pediatrics and paediatrics and specialized nursing staff would be needed. And, Müller continued, the more premature babies they treat every day, the better they get at it. The research is clear: the more often a procedure is performed, the more successful it is. Routine, experience, specialization and the formation of centers save lives in these cases.

Press release from the municipality of Sylt dated 21 January 2025:

As is now the case on all North Sea islands, Sylt has not had any obstetric care for a good ten years. As of July 1, 2024, the island's gynecological group practice ceased its affiliated physician activities, meaning that specialist gynecological and obstetric care for births and caesarean sections is no longer guaranteed. This also applies to emergency caesarean sections.

Outside of the office hours of the gynecologists in private practice, care for other gynecological emergencies is also not guaranteed.

The institutions involved, the midwifery emergency hotline, the Asklepios Nordseeklinik Westerland, the DRK Westerland and the rescue service of the district of Nordfriesland as well as the regional control center and the obstetrics coordination, are in close contact in order to adapt and optimize the care of any gynecological and obstetric emergencies as well as of newborns to the new circumstances and, if necessary, to ensure safe and timely transfer to the mainland.

"We are aware that German citizens have high expectations of healthcare throughout the country. On an island without direct access, such as Sylt, these expectations can only be partially met. In this context, we expressly point out that care cannot be guaranteed in the event of complications during childbirth or for pregnant women on the island, as is the case in some other regions in Germany with longer travel distances," explains Florian Korte, spokesperson for the municipality of Sylt.

In an emergency, the emergency services usually transfer the patient directly to a hospital with appropriate specialist departments on the mainland. "The midwives also recommend that all expectant mothers take advantage of one of the boarding options at the Husum, Heide, or Flensburg maternity hospitals starting two weeks before their due date," says Korte.

Deren Secretary General Hardy Müller advocates for hospital locations that are well-equipped in terms of staff and technology (and thus automatically large): "Of course, it is desirable for every individual to have the ideal care right on their doorstep. However, the studies clearly speak against this. They show that the The quality of treatment and thus the safety of patients depends on three factors is: 

• staffing,
• Technical Equipment
• and the number of cases treated by a medical team 

Even if we were to assume the absolute ideal in terms of technology and personnel, nothing can replace the Experience of a medical team"That sees patients with heart attacks or complications during pregnancy around the clock, for example. Simply put, there's a significant difference in quality whether a doctor performs a procedure 20 or 200 times a year."