Clinic in Schwabach registers bankruptcy - future uncertain!

Clinic in Schwabach registers bankruptcy - future uncertain!

Schwabach, Deutschland - The Schwabach gGmbH hospital registered bankruptcy at the Nuremberg District Court last Friday. As the city of Schwabach announced on Saturday on its homepage, this was the result of a long, tense economic process. Managing Director Walter Förtsch said that all efforts to stabilize the clinic have failed. The clinic had achieved high losses for years, including due to the lack of income and severely increased costs due to the corona pandemic.

In a press release from Diakono, it is said that the social enterprise has provided financial resources in the double -digit millions and management support since its entry as a shareholder. However, these investments were not sufficient to stabilize the financial Situation. The Commercial Board of Diakoneo, Michael Krach, emphasized that the bankruptcy proceedings will not have any effect on the other offers from Diakono.

situation of employees and patients

The further course for the employees and the clinic company remains uncertain. Talks between the city, the hospital, the works council and the provisional insolvency administrator are necessary to develop perspectives. Peter Reiss, the Mayor of Schwabach, has already assured that it is intensively committed to the interests of patients and employees. The last few months have been characterized by persistent shortage of skilled workers and falling patient numbers for the clinic.

At the moment it is uncertain how many employees will be affected by bankruptcy, because the exact number of employees is not yet known. In February 2023, Diakono announced that it would sell the health division, including the clinic in Schwabach. However, a corresponding buyer was not found, which also complicated the situation.

The general crisis in healthcare

The bankruptcy of the clinic in Schwabach is part of a worrying development in the German hospital landscape. According to the Health Management there are numerous bankruptcy cases, especially with freelance-resistant providers. In 2023, 30 bankruptcies have already been recorded, which represents a dramatic increase compared to previous years.

The causes are diverse: high wage costs due to tariff increases, severely increased prices for energy, food and medical devices as well as a lack of sales of sales after pandemic. The clinics are often unable to compensate for increasing costs through price increases. In particular, the freelance supporters are affected, which is also clearly reflected in the situation of the Schwabach gGmbH hospital.

The city of Schwabach had a quarter of the shares in the clinic until February 2023, which it sold to Diakono for a symbolic euro. At the moment, the city is not legally involved in the bidding process or the bankruptcy, but sees itself the responsibility to represent the interests of its citizens as long as the talks are continued. The coming weeks will be decisive to secure the future of the clinic and its employees.