Some German clinics facing closure over energy costs, minister warns

Some German hospitals face an increasing risk of bankruptcy and closure due to the country's burgeoning energy costs, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has warned.

"If we don't react quickly and really drastically, there will be closures," Lauterbach told state broadcaster ARD on Sunday.

Lauterbach told the ARD's Bericht aus Berlin TV programme he will hold talks about more federal assistance for hospitals with Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Tuesday. He said he could not disclose any figures under discussion until then.

Earlier this week, the German Hospital Federation called for officials to take swift action to stave off potential hospital closures and claimed that the hospital sector faces a financing gap for material and energy costs of around €15 billion ($14.6 billion) this year and next year.

While he questioned the basis of those projected figures, Lauterbach agreed that "hospitals will face a very drastic liquidity problem in the next few months."

Germany has about 1,900 hospitals with a total of about 490,000 beds.