End for Vienna hospital

Patient advocate takes AUVA bosses to task

(Bild: Peter Tomschi)

Vienna's patient advocate has had its first successes in the fight for answers to the closure of the Lorenz Böhler Accident Hospital: Hospital operator AUVA now guarantees outpatient clinic operations in Brigittenau. Nevertheless, the patient advocate is not sparing with criticism.

Vienna's patient advocate Gerhard Jelinek has also been trying for a week to get answers from AUVA Director General Alexander Bernart about the future care of the 65,000 patients who were previously treated at the Lorenz Böhler Hospital. Only after an ultimatum, reaffirmation that he was serious and a further extension did he finally receive the requested information on Thursday night.

Now a fixed ambulance guarantee for Brigittenau
As far as concrete timetables for the relocation of the wards are concerned, Bernart remains "quite vague", Jelinek told the "Krone". However, at least he now has it in black and white from the AUVA Director General that "a primary care outpatient clinic for patients who come themselves will remain at the Brigittenau site". This was also agreed with the City of Vienna, but Bernart had recently said that this would only be adhered to "as far as possible".

At this point in time, I have to assume that the management has recognized the seriousness of the situation and is trying to limit the damage.

Wiens Patientenanwalt Gerhard Jelinek

For Jelinek, the fact that, according to Bernart, only "isolated" operations are currently being postponed at the Lorenz Böhler Hospital is first and foremost "an assertion" that cannot be verified: "We currently have no complaints to the contrary." If operations are postponed, those affected "will be informed individually of their new dates", Bernard guaranteed.

AUVA praises itself for "informing the public"
Bernart did not have much more concrete information to offer him either, Jelinek explains. Above all, his letter "explains in great detail why the planned closure is unavoidable" and that work is being done "at full speed" to relocate inpatient capacities, particularly to the AKH and the UKH Meidling.

The letter also contains the AUVA management's self-assessment that all information channels are being used "to inform the public". Jelinek nobly withholds an assessment of the AUVA letter, but at least the response has avoided "a major affront to the patient advocacy group" for the time being.