Lack of doctors in Upper Austria: hopelessness in healthcare?

Lack of doctors in Upper Austria: hopelessness in healthcare?

In Upper Austria, health care faces a critical situation: the Austrian health insurance (ÖGK) was only able to fill two of a total of 24 vacant family practices until summer. This shows that the lack of general practitioners can only be remedied slowly. The situation is particularly alarming in the Innviertel and the city of Wels, since there is no high number of doctors there, as can be seen from reports from the Ministry. According to the Medical Association, the defect is even more serious: 39 cash contract agencies for general practitioners are currently being sought. It is also worrying that more than 140 doctors in Upper Austria, who were over 70 years old, were still working. This is twice as much as five years ago, which indicates an overload of the existing staff, as fewer and fewer young doctors start into work.

historical roots and development

The history of Upper Austria is closely linked to the development of the entire country. Already in the Central Paleolithic, Neanderthals lived there around 130,000 years ago, which were finally replaced by modern people. Over the thousands of years, the region established itself as an important center of salt mining with the Mondsee culture, which was known for its pile construction settlements. From about 450 BC The settlement by the Celts began, which launched the Kingdom of Noricum, one of the first organizations, which was finally absorbed by the Romans. An important part of the Roman province of Noricum included the area of ​​today's Upper Austria, where, among other things, the cities of Ovilava and Lauriacum (today Lorch) flourished and numerous Roman soldiers were stationed.

Over the centuries, the country changed rule several times and experienced various cultural and political developments. With the beginning of the Franconian supervisor, the area was divided into two distinct parts, which later became a strong economic and cultural center for the Habsburgs. The introduction of the landlord system in the Eastern alpine countries marked the beginning of a further settlement. To date, these historical events shape the structure and the cultural heritage of Upper Austria, which has continued to establish itself as an important economic area in Austria, as an overview of the "history of Upper Austria".