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

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. 

Negotiations with FM Christian Lindner for 'aid' 

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.