Heilbronn (dpa/lsw) - The state is again helping the university clinics with a financial injection because of the stress caused by the corona pandemic. The Ministry of Science announced on Monday in Stuttgart that the economic consequences of the pandemic are to be reduced with a total of up to 141 million euros and the solvency of the houses in Heidelberg and Freiburg, Ulm and Mannheim is to be secured. The university clinics are still under massive strain because they have particularly expensive infrastructure and highly qualified staff, said Minister of Science Petra Olschowski (Greens) on Monday.

The state had already made up to 615 million euros available to the university clinics in spring 2020 so that they could ensure ongoing operations and invest in the expansion of intensive care capacities. This pot is also the basis for support in the current year.

The reason for the massive burden is above all the requirements for protection against infection for vulnerable facilities, the significant loss of work and thus a reduction in revenue even in the case of symptom-free courses, said Frederik Wenz, spokesman for the Competence Network University Medicine Baden-Württemberg. "At the same time, pandemic-compliant hospital operations will remain significantly more expensive in 2023 than hospital operations before the pandemic due to the necessary protective measures," explained the Chief Medical Director of the Freiburg University Hospital.