Greifswald (dpa/mv) – The University Medicine Greifswald (UMG) got through the second year of Corona financially a little better than planned. The UMG announced on Friday that there would be a deficit of 2.345 million euros for 2021. Previously, a minus of 2.5 million euros was assumed.

“With a total output of 397.8 million euros, we can speak of a balanced budget despite the slight deficit,” explained Toralf Giebe, Chief Financial Officer. In the course of the corona pandemic, many routine procedures have been postponed. The costs for protective equipment, corona tests and safety precautions, on the other hand, have risen massively.

The funding in the German health system is insufficient for this. Giebe called for changes in the financing of university hospitals. “In particular, the chronically underfunded areas of pediatric medicine and obstetrics must be remunerated differently!” For 2022, he expects even greater challenges, for example due to the high level of sick leave in the first quarter and significant cost increases for pharmaceuticals, medical devices and, above all, energy.