Underutilization

Empty rehab beds cost taxpayers millions

Rehab beds remained unused, but still had to be paid for.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Bernd Ege - stock.adobe.com)

Because 90 percent occupancy was contractually guaranteed but not achieved for years, the state had to pay the private clinic. This has now been uncovered by the Court of Audit.

They obviously wanted to show foresight when it came to health issues - but once again they got it wrong! Eleven years ago, the then Landesklinikenholding (which has since been replaced by the Landesgesundheitsagentur LGA) entered into a contract with the private operator of a special hospital near Wiener Neustadt to provide 60 so-called remobilization beds for patients of the Wiener Neustadt hospital. The private hospital was guaranteed 90 percent utilization of these beds. Should this not be achieved, the regional company would step into the breach financially.

Contract termination not possible until 2031
And this was actually the case every year until 2022, as the Court of Audit recently noted in an audit report. The bottom line for local taxpayers was a whopping 10.34 million euros - for empty rehab beds! The guaranteed 90 percent occupancy rate was not reached until 2023. The LGA cannot withdraw from the contract until 2031 - albeit subject to a three-year notice period.

This is the result of a state health agency that operates far from the control of the state parliament.

René Pfister, SPÖ-Abgeordneter

Bild: SPÖ NÖ

Fierce criticism from the opposition
This failed bed deal is grist to the mill of the health agency's critics. "Where does one get the idea of concluding such contracts?" rages René Pfister (SPÖ). And Edith Kollermann, health spokesperson for the Neos party, also shakes her head: "While doctors' surgeries in rural areas are barely occupied, the state health agency pays millions for unused beds."