Money in the state budget

New system to secure veterinary care

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(Bild: Stock Adobe)

The province of Tyrol wants to tackle current challenges by paying for weekend and public holiday services. The aim is to secure long-term care in all regions. 

Numerous retirements and a shortage of future veterinarians are currently creating increasing challenges in Tyrol to ensure the provision of care. There is now an initial approach to counteract this: a new system is to be launched in Tyrol from the middle of the year. "We are responding to these changes by paying for on-call services at weekends and on public holidays in order to ensure veterinary care in the long term," emphasizes Josef Geisler, Deputy Provincial Governor.

This not only enables nationwide coverage in livestock medicine, but also the fulfillment of official tasks such as disease control and food monitoring.

Landesveterinärdirektor Matthias Vill

Restructuring in regions
The new system is part of an overall concept in which supply and disease veterinarians (VSTA) are replacing the regional veterinarian system. This will result in a restructuring into 27 VSTA regions, which will ensure a more flexible and effective distribution of veterinary services. "This not only enables nationwide coverage in livestock medicine, but also the fulfillment of official tasks such as disease control and food monitoring," explains State Veterinary Director Matthias Vill. The state is now providing 800,000 euros to secure remuneration for on-call services.

Further measures could follow
"This measure will provide valuable support for our colleagues, especially in rural regions," says Bernd Hradecky, President of the Chamber of Veterinarians. The association is also working on further measures to meet the increasing demand.