Hospitals in Baden-Württemberg warn of clinic death

Hospitals in Baden-Württemberg warn of clinic death

The hospitals in Baden-Württemberg are faced with a precarious financial Situation and urgently demand support to prevent uncontrolled clinic death. According to the Baden-Württemberg Hospital Society (BWKG), 85 percent of the clinics in the country expect high deficits for 2024. In the current year, 900 million euros alone are missing from the hospitals. The financial situation has deteriorated, and for the years 2023 and 2024, the clinics lack a total of more than 1.5 billion euros.

In 2022, almost 59 percent of hospitals in Baden-Württemberg wrote red numbers, in contrast to 2020, when almost half of the clinics recorded profits. Heiner Scheffold, CEO of the BWKG, described the financial disaster of the clinics in the country as a direct consequence of the failed federal hospital policy. The increased costs for personnel and material funds as well as the lack of permanent financing represent serious challenges.

The BWKG calls for an increase in hospital remuneration and reliable financing to prevent cold structural change and deterioration in patient care. Without quick action, other clinics threaten to get bankruptcy because the reserves are used up. Three clinics in Baden-Württemberg are already in bankruptcy proceedings, and the situation could be tightened.

Minister of Health Manne Lucha emphasizes that the financing of the operating costs of hospitals is the responsibility of the federal government. It is committed to better conditions, especially given the above-average wage costs in Baden-Württemberg. Ordinary hospital reform is considered urgently necessary to prevent further closures. The BWKG calls on Federal Minister Lauterbach and Lindner to act quickly to prevent the worst.