Community nurses

Nurse: “It’s also very much about trust”

In Thalgau: Magdalena Fischill-Neudeck, Christina Kubesch.

(Bild: Gesundheitspflege Thalgau)

The mobile healthcare project in Salzburg is still in limbo. A nurse from Flachgau talks about her day-to-day work.

Why is a future solution for community nurses only now being discussed? Not only those affected are asking themselves this question. A month and a half before the EU funding expired, the municipalities received the shock news from Social Welfare Councillor Christian Pewny from the FPÖ, which claims to be committed to social issues and a sense of home. "We are currently in the evaluation phase," Pewny informed the critics in the state parliament. "Time is more than short," countered Barbara Thöny (SPÖ). A solution is only now being sought. The government program also includes the establishment of the project.

"We have pointed out several times that the funding is coming to an end," reported Magdalena Fischill-Neudeck, herself a community nurse, in the provincial parliament. She fell on deaf ears with the state. She and her colleague Christina Kubesch have set up a service in Thalgau: "It's a lot about trust," Kubesch tells us about everyday life. For example, they look after elderly people who come out of hospital and need help in the first few days. Kubesch: "We practise how to wash your hair with an injured shoulder." Or: anyone who cares for their own partner and has to go to hospital themselves is quickly overwhelmed. The focus is clearly on prevention. "We have set up a health cafe," says Kubesch.

The only thing all parties agree on is that the project should continue. How remains to be seen.