SPÖ wants to change the law

Women have to wait a month for doctor’s appointments

SPÖ Provincial Councillor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig.

(Bild: Imre Antal)

The gaps in the supply of gynecologists are currently growing, not only in Lower Austria, but also in other regions. The SPÖ wants to change the law before the election date.

On average, women in this country currently have to wait almost a whole month for an appointment with a statutory health insurance gynecologist. There are currently 44 potential patients per day waiting to see a specialist. Figures that have long since set alarm bells ringing in politics.

More lucrative working conditions
"More and more women are being forced to switch to private doctors if they can afford it. This is also evidenced by the elective doctor bills, which have almost tripled since 2019," says SPÖ state councillor Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig. Because more and more gynaecologists are also working as elective doctors, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) wants to offer more lucrative working conditions in the health insurance sector, namely in primary care centers.

However, according to ÖGK, this would require a change in the law, as primary care centers are currently only permitted for family doctors and paediatricians. An initiative that is also welcomed in this country. The provincial councillor therefore recently sought talks with the SPÖ's leading candidate for the national elections, Rudi Silvan.

If we want to make our healthcare system one of the best in the world again, we must act immediately!

Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig

He is a member of the parliamentary health committee and wants to work with the provincial councillor to ensure that the necessary amendment to the law to include female gynaecologists in the PVE Act is initiated before the National Council elections - and that no valuable time is lost until parliament is reconstituted.