Black-Blue declares

Hospital dispute: location guarantee for acute care

Will Lower Austria soon close hospitals? This question has now been at least partially answered.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com - Gorodenkoff Productions OU)

One week after the "Krone" revealed a secret paper, the black-blue state government has now explained the Lower Austrian health pact. However, many questions remained unanswered. Only the opinion on SPÖ leader Sven Hergovich was clear: his attacks were "irresponsible" and "selfish".

https://www.krone.at/3564940

The fact that Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig was absent from the three-party discussion on Tuesday should not be overestimated - after all, the regional health councillor has to stay in bed due to illness. Nevertheless, the name of the SPÖ politician was mentioned unusually often and was praised by her black-blue colleagues in the state government. The cooperation with her was constructive, said ÖVP Finance Councillor Ludwig Schleritzko. Not so with the red chairman Sven Hergovich, whom he accused of "scandalizing for party political reasons". Schleritzko: "You can't play with the worries and fears of the people of Lower Austria!"

Nevertheless, it took a week for the secret plan uncovered by the "Krone", which also included the closure of four hospitals, to be condemned as "years-old paper without value". It dates back to the previous legislative period, Schleritzko asserts. Deliberations on the healthcare pact were only started in January 2024.

SPÖ politicians also on the expert panel
Two different committees of specialists and experts - including representatives of the SPÖ such as St. Pölten's mayor Matthias Stadler, as Schleritzko emphasized - have been working on so-called recommendations for action since then. The fact that these will not be ready until the end of the first quarter of 2025 and therefore not until after the municipal elections in Lower Austria, is said to be impossible for reasons of quality assurance.

Location guarantee for acute care
What this means in detail for the future of the provincial hospitals will not be known until then. At least Schleritzko gave a kind of "location guarantee" for acute care. This will be guaranteed "without exception" in all locations where hospitals are currently located. However, the regional finance councillor, who is also responsible for the regional health agency, admits that this does not necessarily have to take place in the clinical area. Emergency outpatient clinics are also conceivable in primary care centers that are open around the clock. However, such a center does not yet exist in Lower Austria

„Krone“-Kommentar

Wenn Gesundheit skandalisiert wird

What will become of the acute patient "Lower Austrian healthcare"? Politicians and experts have been negotiating this behind closed doors since January. This is because the system is becoming increasingly difficult to finance and at the same time it is becoming increasingly difficult to find staff for some departments. Information about this to the public? No, it's all secret!

Commenting on political events in Lower Austria: "NÖ Krone" boss Lukas Lusetzky.

(Bild: Krone Kreativ)

The curious timetable of the negotiators: results were to be presented in March 2025 - long after the local council elections on 26 January. Politicians who thought that the issue would not be discussed until after the elections could not be beaten in terms of naivety. On October 16, the "Krone" then uncovered a secret closure plan. It took almost a week for three (!) responsible provincial councillors to comment on it. The fourth (!) councillor responsible, Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, was ill.

Ludwig Schleritzko said in the direction of SPÖ chairman Sven Hergovich: "One must not scandalize out of political calculation." At the same time, ÖVP managing director Matthias Zauner announced: "Hergovich muzzled Königsberger-Ludwig and she then unexpectedly apologized for the joint press conference due to illness." And if she really is ill? Who will scandalize then?

But back to the topic: it would be important to simplify the confusing responsibilities - and to keep citizens clearly informed.