Crisis in the Viennese health system: over 8,500 symptoms in one year!

Crisis in the Viennese health system: over 8,500 symptoms in one year!

The Viennese patient attorney Gerhard Jelinek reports on alarming abuses in the healthcare sector, which are revealed by a high number of symptoms. In its latest report, the Viennese nursing and patient attorney (WPPA) recorded over 8,500 inquiries for 2023, including almost 900 symptoms. It is shocking that the organization was able to negotiate almost 3 million euros in compensation for the victims, and Jelinek notes that many of the problems in the health and care sector have been repeated for years. This is done against the background that patients from other federal states are rejected in certain treatments, as ORF reports. One example is a patient whose operation was canceled at the last moment because she did not have her main residence in Vienna.

growing challenges in care

The problems include not only the dismissal of patients, but also serious passports in medicine and care as well as difficulties in the care of medication. In many Viennese districts, pediatricians are lacking, which means that desperate parents have to visit hospital outpatients in emergencies, as the WPPA reports. The lack of important medicines, including antibiotics, already results in health -long consequences for children because they cannot be adequately cared for. Jelinek calls for national needs planning to better coordinate the resources in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.

The reports show that the failures were not only visible during corona pandemic. Many gaps continue to exist, especially when integrating long-covid patients into the health system, where there is a lack of knowledge and infrastructure. A note from the reports is that accessible vaccinations for real estate people are again challenged, since contagious diseases continue to shape the medial events. The WPPA is an important player who takes care of the rights of patients and offers free consultations to show abuses and provide support, as Jelinek carried out.

For detailed information on the symptoms and the challenges in the healthcare system, interested parties can view the comprehensive report on the WPPA website, as well as in the publication of press.gv.at can be read.