Caritas opens Vienna's first inpatient hospice for dignified farewell

Caritas opens Vienna's first inpatient hospice for dignified farewell

Wien, Österreich - Caritas opened the first inpatient hospice in Vienna to significantly expand the existing palliative care in the city. In Liesing, a district of Vienna, there are now 16 places available to enable patients in their last phase of life. This reports Oe24 .

According to Caritas director Klaus Schwertner, the need for inpatient hospice sites is high. So far, 25 people have been accompanied in the new facility until the end of life. The age structure of the patient ranges from 42 to 97 years, with the average length of stay around five weeks. Schwertner also calls for a legal claim to palliative care in order to meet the challenges in hospice and palliative care.

comprehensive offer for palliative care

This hospice is part of a comprehensive range of Caritas. It complements the mobile services and, as the largest inpatient hospice of Vienna, is supposed to create new opportunities for patients. In the facility, an interdisciplinary team of specialists will ensure that patients care for the patient. The financing is supported by the hospice and palliative-fund law that came into force in 2022, which is considered necessary by many to improve care.

Social and Health Minister Korinna Schumann emphasizes the urgency of the expansion of the hospice offers, while department head Peter Hacker emphasizes the positive changes by the new law. The evaluation of the missing places in the city is already underway to ensure that the growing demand for palliative care is met.

In addition to the inpatient offers, 34 specialized hospice and palliative care facilities for children, adolescents and young adults are available. Gesundheit.gv.at informs about the various options in palliative care and refers to the importance of general practitioner support and mobile palliative teams for comprehensive care.

Overall, the opening of the first inpatient hospice in Vienna represents significant progress in palliative care and shows how important it is to ensure decent care in the last phase of life.