Rescue parachute | October 18, 2024
The merger with the Münsingen Psychiatry Center, paying wages, restructuring – all of this costs money. The University Psychiatric Services are now getting this from the Canton of Bern.
The UPD receives a loan from the canton of Bern, among other things, to promote the merger with the Münsingen Psychiatry Center (seen in the picture). Photo: Keystone
The canton of Bern has granted the University Psychiatric Services (UPD) a loan of 52 million francs. The money will be used to secure liquidity for the psychiatric institution.
A first tranche of 25 million francs could be accessed from mid-November, as the government council wrote in a statement on Friday. The loan runs until the end of 2027 and carries interest of 2.5 percent.
The government council has thus approved a request from the UPD administrative board. The money is needed “so that we can pay wages, advance the merger with the Münsingen Psychiatry Center and carry out restructuring,” Board Chairman Christoph Egger told the Tamedia newspapers last week. The UPD should be able to manage independently again by spring.
Comes with conditions
The loan contains various conditions, as the government council’s announcement continued. For example, it obliges the UPD to provide regular reporting, to cap gross annual salaries and to comply with corporate governance.
The Bern cantonal parliament approved a rescue package worth 100 million francs for the hospitals in June. The UPD is now the first institution to make use of the funds. The university psychiatric services have been under financial pressure for some time. Last year they posted a loss of almost 22 million francs.
