Styrian provincial councillor

“Waiting 40 weeks for a hip operation is too long”

Karlheinz Kornhäusl is "appalled" in an interview with "Krone" about the case of the doctor who took her 13-year-old daughter into the operating theater.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

Karlheinz Kornhäusl, the Styrian ÖVP health councillor, wants to reduce the endless waiting times for patients with new synergies. The physician thinks little of a Vienna-style ban on elective doctors.

"Krone": Patients who apply for cataract surgery today will get an appointment in October 2026, the waiting list is longer than ever. Five departments at Graz University Hospital are currently closed due to a lack of staff. When will your measures have an effect?
Karlheinz Kornhäusl: A system that has evolved over decades cannot be changed overnight, unfortunately that is the truth. Waiting times for cataracts are the longest, but even if a patient has to wait 40 weeks for a hip operation, that is too long.

We have long been working in the background on analyses and new solution models. We have already achieved some successes: Thanks to the increased exchange between the individual hospitals, we have been able to reduce waiting times for oncological/urological procedures to zero, for example. Further synergies are being planned.

Full hospital outpatient departments, long waiting times for operations, overstretched staff: there is still a lot to do in the Styrian healthcare system.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl, Krone KREATIV)

In Vienna, the planned ban on elective doctors for hospital doctors is causing a stir. Is such a regulation also conceivable for Styria?
The problem is much bigger in Vienna and the situation in the capital is not comparable to that in Styria. I didn't like the fact that the changes were communicated to doctors via the media. I also see the danger that hospital doctors will leave altogether in the event of such a ban.

The on-call services of GPs are being extended to the second half of the night. Are these the Styrian outpatient clinics announced by the governor or is there more to come?
In Graz, the night-time on-call service has been running under the name 'Med
Mobil' via 1450 has been running for some time, and quite successfully. Why shouldn't the rest of Styria have a similarly good service?

Low demand and high costs could be the reasons.
That remains to be seen. We are now starting in three pilot regions and 1450 is being advertised more intensively in parallel. If we see in six months' time that the new service is not being taken up enough, we will simply stop it again. But we will still be allowed to try something. There is no additional Styrian outpatient clinic concept.

Doesn't want to hang up his political office for a long time yet: Karlheinz Kornhäusl (42), ÖVP State Councillor for Health and Sport, in his office in the Graz Landhaus.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

The red veteran Siegfried Schrittwieser has succeeded in recoloring the presidency of the Red Cross. Are you prepared for tough negotiations?
Sigi Schrittwieser and I have been in constant contact and I appreciate his frankness. Conversely, he always has an open ear for me. At the end of the day, we have to find the best solution for the patients together, that's what counts - I look forward to working with him.

What about the case of the neurosurgeon who brought her 13-year-old daughter into the operating theater in Graz, which was uncovered by the "Krone" newspaper?
When I heard about the case, I was speechless, which I rarely am. I have a 13-year-old daughter myself who wants to be a doctor, but of course I would never think of taking her to hospital for that reason. Unfortunately, it concerns a highly respected colleague, which is even more upsetting. However, the presumption of innocence applies until the police investigation has been completed.

It is said that the SPÖ wants to take back the health portfolio after the election. Do you have a plan B?
I have always been honest about the problems in our healthcare system, I have never changed my cell phone number and anyone can still call me at any time. Being a doctor myself is probably not a disadvantage for the job. I enjoy going into the office every day and I still have a lot of visions - so I would very much like to stay on as Provincial Councillor.