Hospital closures

“Must not deny migration problem as SPÖ!”

(Bild: krone.tv)

The ÖVP and SPÖ must now find common ground. We must now put what we have in common before what divides us, says Sven Hergovich, leader of the Lower Austrian SPÖ in the krone.tv live talk. He pleads: "Above all, we in the SPÖ must not deny the migration issue."

Hergovich does not want to comment on or evaluate the Federal President's decision to give the ÖVP the mandate to form a government. It is now time to work on the problems and challenges.

"Election result gives me hope"
The focus should not be on posts, but on content, explains Hergovich, also with a view to Rudi Fußi, who is collecting declarations of support for a contest vote against Andreas Babler. But what gives him hope that this reorientation in terms of content will actually happen? "The election result," says Hergovich. You always have to take them seriously. "I see social democracy as the party of working people. And if you see yourself as the party of working people, then you have to take the concerns and needs of working people very, very seriously and address them. And I believe that there is great interest in the Social Democrats to do so."

Lower Austria's SPÖ leader Sven Hergovich(Bild: krone.tv)

"The next hospital would be in the Czech Republic"
A debate has flared up in the health sector in Lower Austria in recent weeks: In the krone.tv talk, Hergovich once again opposed the closure of the hospitals that are said to be planned according to a published paper. According to Hergovich, every minute counts in the event of a heart attack. "It makes a difference whether she needs 30 minutes to get to the nearest hospital or a good hour". Hergovich outlines how residents on the Czech border in Haugschlag would fare. "The nearest hospital would be in the Czech Republic after the planned reform."

The ÖVP reassures and assures primary and acute care at the locations at all times. Hergovich comments: "The interesting thing is what is meant by the word 'at any time'. Because the current plan in the secret paper states that some of these hospitals are to be converted into primary care centers. I have nothing at all against primary care centers; on the contrary, I support them. But you have to know that, unlike hospitals, primary care centers do not have round-the-clock opening hours."

If the reform comes, it would mean long waiting times, says Hergovich. "We want to preserve our hospitals." The health issue should be kept out of the upcoming local council elections, which will take place in January, continued the Lower Austrian SPÖ leader. 

Hergovich would like to see a joint commitment from the other parties and a guarantee that the locations will be retained. You can hear more about this in the video above!