No more treatment

High waves after dispute between FP man and doctor

In St. Wolfgang, the mood in the local council has been bad for some time, and now there is a rift between the FP and the Greens

(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart)

The air is thick in St. Wolfgang. The head of the local FP party accuses a female doctor of terminating his treatment at the joint practice following a political debate. The doctor, who is also a Green Party local councillor, sees things completely differently: the patient did not want to be treated by her.

Should a doctor also be politically active in his home community? General practitioner Martin Reiter from Gschwandt answers this question with a clear no. He strictly separates the two tasks. In his home town he is a VP municipal councillor, in Leonding he is a GP. The risk of conflicts of interest and misunderstandings would otherwise be far too great.

Politics after therapy?
Sankt Wolfgang is a good example of this. Elisabeth Leifer-Lepic, a doctor working in the community, is also a local Green politician. She is accused of often politicizing after the medical part of a treatment.

Serious accusations against doctor
FP local party leader Ronald Eichenauer, who has to see a doctor regularly due to a chronic illness, even makes serious accusations against Leifer-Lepic: "During a 'purification talk', she even suggested that I change sides." The Freedom Party member is really annoyed that he was recently refused prescriptions for necessary medication following a dispute. Against his will, his treatment at Leifer-Lepic's practice was terminated and handed over to a colleague in another town.

Authorities are informed
Eichenauer is taking action with both the social security authorities and the disciplinary commission of the Medical Association: "The lady has overstepped the mark - just because I don't agree with her political statements and criticize them if necessary, she can't refuse to treat me!"

I asked for a personal meeting. Unfortunately, this did not take place. The door would still be open.

Leifer-Lepic sees things completely differently: "Eichenauer wrote on Facebook that he had changed family doctor. I therefore had to assume that he no longer wanted to be treated by me. But I made sure that he got a new doctor." She also asked for a personal meeting to clarify the matter. However, this has not yet happened. "The door would still be open for him," says Leifer-Lepic.