Germany To Shut Down Hospitals Due To Energy Crisis, Health Minister Gives Grave Warning

[beijingwalker]

Germany To Shut Down Hospitals Due To Energy Crisis, Health Minister Gives Grave Warning​

17th October, 2022 21:51 IST

In an effort to avert the energy crisis, the government in Germany is mulling a shutdown of a substantial number of hospitals. The European country has been battling rising energy costs and hiking inflation as well as exorbitant costs of living with prices of basic essential commodities doubling since last year. German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Sunday, that German hospitals may face insolvency due to the energy, and inflation crisis. The German government, although, does not intend to swing any 'special fund' to keep the clinics running for basic healthcare, APA reports.

"If we do not react there quickly and also really drastically, there will be closures," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told public broadcaster ARD, separately.

The German government has been exploring all measures to guarantee the country’s energy security, Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said at a conference. Lauterbach echoed the chancellor's remarks, saying that the administration was in the process of negotiations with Finance Minister Christian Lindner about approving some form of government aid for hospitals. The politician, although, clarified that he cannot give "any order of magnitude" regarding the amount of aid at this time, as talks are ongoing. he stressed that the hospital fund to keep it going will be similar to a special €100 billion ($97.4 billion) fund for the military. "We cannot introduce a special fund for every area," he said, according to the broadcaster. "Everything has to be paid off," he lamented.

Lauterbach's remarks have worried the German Hospital Association, who are now demanding the government's intervention, as per the reports. Hospital authorities fear that judging from the intensity of the energy crisis, several facilities may face closures risking the health and well-being of the German people. German Hospital Association told the local press that there is a financing gap for material costs and energy which is estimated to be around €15 billion. As the western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia, the disruption in the supply chains has spiked global fuel and food prices, particularly in the European Union and the United States. Recently Germany's Nord Stream pipelines, which supplied gas from Russia to Europe from under the Baltic sea also suffered sabotage during the ongoing war in Ukraine leading to a critical gas shortage.

Germany to shut down hospitals due to energy crisis? Health Minister gives grave warning

"If we do not react there quickly and also really drastically, there will be closures," Germnay's Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told public broadcaster ARD.

www.republicworld.com

 

[beijingwalker]

German health minister warns of hospital closures due to energy crisis​

German hospitals threatened with insolvency because of energy, inflation crisis, but government does not want 'special fund' for clinics​

17.10.2022

BERLIN

Some German hospitals could go bankrupt because of the energy and inflation crisis, the nation's health minister warned late Sunday.

"If we do not react there quickly and also really drastically, there will be closures," Karl Lauterbach told public broadcaster ARD, adding that he will negotiate with Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Tuesday about more government aid for hospitals.

However, he could not give "any order of magnitude" regarding the amount of aid until then, he added.

On calls for there to be some kind of "special fund" for hospitals in Germany, similar to the special €100 billion ($97.4 billion) fund for the military, Lauterbach reacted negatively. "We cannot introduce a special fund for every area," he said. After all, Lauterbach continued, "everything has to be paid off."

The background to Lauterbach's comments are demands by the German Hospital Association for rapid aid from politicians. The society fears otherwise closures of numerous hospitals. According to the German Hospital Association, the financing gap for material costs and energy adds up to around €15 billion in 2022 and 2023.

The inflation rate in Germany rose to 10.9% in September. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) explained that the inflation rate had thus reached "a historic high since German reunification." The reasons are "enormous price increases" for energy products and food.

Leading German economists have been warning for some time that rising gas prices could push the EU's largest economy into recession. According to the experts, Germany will be one of the countries hardest hit by the global economic slowdown next year.

German health minister warns of hospital closures due to energy crisis

German hospitals threatened with insolvency because of energy, inflation crisis, but government does not want 'special fund' for clinics - Anadolu Agency

www.aa.com.tr

 

[fitpOsitive]

I haven't heard about such a warning, and I am living in Germany.