Emergencies – Freiburg im Breisgau – Ministry of the Environment doubles subsidies for poison emergency number – Panorama

Freiburg (dpa / lsw) – The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment has increased its annual subsidies to the state-wide Poisoning Information Center (VIZ) in Freiburg to around 800,000 euros, more than doubling it. “Without a sustainable solution one would have had to stop operations and dissolve the poisoning information center,” said Environment Minister Franz Untersteller (Greens) according to a statement. The money could be used to increase the number of staff at the facility to the required level, and it could also be used to finance a move to more modern rooms.

The VIZ, which is located at the Freiburg University Clinic, operates a poison emergency number around the clock. More and more people are turning to the Freiburg emergency call center with questions about poisoning, drugs or the effects of medication. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the number of documented inquiries has increased by 56 percent over the past 15 years to around 32,000 calls a year.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210226-99-607729 / 2

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