Future of the clinics in the Weinviertel: debate about location closings

Future of the clinics in the Weinviertel: debate about location closings

The discussion about the future hospital landscape in the Weinviertel picks up speed, especially in view of a recently emerged expert paper that suggests the closure of clinics in Hollabrunn, Korneuburg and Stockerau. The medical director of the medical institutions in this region, Rainer Ernstberger, has commented on this and emphasized that bundling inpatient acute care could certainly bring advantages.

Ernstberger argued that the creation of a new clinic in the southwest of the wine district could increase efficiency in diagnostics. This would not only compensate for longer travel routes in individual cases, but above all lead to a faster start of therapy. He emphasized that the current situation of maintaining three separate, older clinics was not optimal. The restoration of these structures is cost -intensive, while a central, modern hospital could work more economically with an effective operating cost structure.

challenges of inpatient care

The clinics in Hollabrunn and Korneuburg-Stockerau are currently responsible for the inpatient basic supply of around 150,000 people in the northern Viennese area. In some departments, as Ernstberger noted, up to 300,000 patients are even affected. Interdisciplinary cooperation between specialists is essential for effective treatment of seriously ill acute patients.

"The required personnel, technical and structural resources for a timely intervention must be available around the clock," he said, underlining the need for close cooperation between the different specialist areas. His views are part of a major discussion within the Lower Austrian health pact, a platform that is supposed to advise on the future of health care in the state.

health pact and different perspectives

In this debate, the managing director of Health Weinviertel GmbH, Katja Steininger. She made it clear that there are currently numerous suggestions on the table, but a lot of discussion and evaluation are still necessary. "No single proposal is fixed," she said. According to her, it is primarily about ensuring better health care with the existing staff, and by no means saving savings, which she wants to continue to emphasize. Elisabeth Brärtigam, head of the LGA, supports this statement and explained that the goal was not to reduce employees.

In the political debate, the SPÖ Lower Austria, which is alerted, also commented on the possibility of a comprehensive wave of hospital. Member of the State Parliament Rene Pfister announced that the party would make a decision against all planned closures and calls for a publication of the "black and blue secret paper". At the core of the discussion, there is concern that citizens in the Weinviertel could have less access to important health resources in the future.

Development remains exciting, and the results of this discussion will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on health care in the region. A deeper insight into the consequences and details of the current considerations offers The article on noe.orf.at .