Many clinics cannot pay Christmas bonuses
The financial situation of hospitals in Germany is even more strained than feared. According to a survey, almost two thirds of hospitals are unable to pay their own employees' Christmas bonuses. Many have to take out loans to do so.
Due to the strained financial situation, 60 percent of German hospitals are no longer able to pay the collectively agreed Christmas bonuses for their employees from their normal operating income. This was reported by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) with reference to the German Hospital Association's (DKG) fall survey of general hospitals. According to the survey, these hospitals require subsidies from the funding bodies, short-term liquidity loans from banks or both to pay Christmas bonuses. In the survey, almost 100 percent of hospitals assured that they would pay out the Christmas bonuses in full and on time despite the financial difficulties.
Hospitals overwhelmingly describe the current economic situation as bleak. Two thirds of general hospitals rate it as "bad" (43 percent) or "very bad" (24 percent). A third of the hospitals describe the situation as "mediocre" (26 percent). Six percent gave the rating "good" and only one percent said the situation was "very good".
Criticism of Lauterbach: more deceptive packages than solutions
Due to the current situation, 42% of general hospitals expect to have to reduce their range of services in the next six months, for example by closing beds or temporarily closing wards. 23 percent of hospitals expect to reduce the scope of services, for example by postponing scheduled operations, and 49 percent expect to reduce staffing levels. Eight percent no longer rule out site closures for the next six months.
"The study once again proves the dramatic emergency situation in which hospitals find themselves," DKG boss Gerald Gaß told RND. "We are obviously heading for noticeable gaps in care," he warned with regard to the service restrictions expected by the hospitals. "Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach will soon have to answer for this cold structural change to the detriment of patients," said the head of the association. There must finally be full compensation for inflation, he demanded. So far, Lauterbach has only presented deceptive packages as solutions. From Monday, the hospital industry will meet for the annual Hospital Day in Düsseldorf.
In light of the financial struggles, many hospitals in Germany are seeking subsidies or loans to pay their employees' Christmas bonuses, as over 60% of them are currently unable to afford these bonuses from their operational income. Notably, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is facing criticism for presenting deceptive packages as solutions instead of providing full compensation for inflation, with hospitals warning of potential noticeable gaps in care if no action is taken.
Source: www.ntv.de
