Years of neglect

Lower Austria lacks a plan for the future of its hospitals

Very few people know what the restructuring and future plans for hospitals in Lower Austria look like, although these have been demanded by the federal government for years.

(Bild: Antal Imre)

(Bild: Imre Antal)

The state of Lower Austria is threatened with a loss of 437 million euros if the documents on the orientation of the hospitals are not submitted on time. The plan up to 2025 should have been completed before 2020, which has not yet been done as required by the federal government. The "Health Pact" is now supposed to deliver on time.

SPÖ provincial councillor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig has run out of patience when it comes to drawing up the Regional Structural Plan for Health (RSG). This should have been adopted before 2020 and should have been valid until 2025. The first part was drawn up in 2018, but it only divides Lower Austria into five health regions.

"You have the right to know what changes are planned in the healthcare system. After all, you're paying for it!" says Königsberger-Ludwig.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

No transparency, fait accompli
"People have a right to know which departments are being closed in which hospitals and where bed numbers are being changed. They also pay for this with their taxes. There is currently no transparency - people are being presented with a fait accompli," she criticizes.

Green criticism as early as 2022
Green health spokesperson Silvia Moser criticized this situation in the "Krone" newspaper back in early 2022. At the time, the Green Ministry of Health also confirmed that Lower Austria was the only federal state that had not defined location-based capacity planning for hospitals. Moser: "In order for the state to receive the money from the federal government, we have to present reforms and also the plan by the end of 2025. After all, we are talking about 437.4 million euros!"

"Health pact" must deliver
After the 2023 state elections, responsibility passed from ÖVP state councillor Martin Eichtinger to FPÖ state councillor Christoph Luisser, who is aware of the time pressure: "That's why we presented the healthcare pact in January 2024. Experts are working on it, if everyone continues to pull together, we should be able to deliver the structural plan on time," he says, detecting election campaign bluster from the SPÖ. This is because Königsberger-Ludwig is also on board and fully involved in the committee.