Two pediatricians have been practicing in the Sonnwendviertel in Favoriten for about a month. They look after up to 200 children every day. The need for paediatricians is great. But in Vienna, 14 positions are vacant despite the increasing population.
One of the reasons that make Vienna one of the most livable cities in the world is “the excellent health system in itself,” said Stefan Ferenci, the new chairman of the curia for employed doctors and vice president of the Medical Association for Vienna. But the system has started to crumble in recent years, “in many areas there is only a shortage of supply”.
For patients and in this case especially for parents, the medical care of children has been noticeable for a long time. Despite the increasing population, there are fewer and fewer health insurance offices for paediatricians. And every year there are fewer. Currently, 15 of the 90 checkout counters are vacant, which is 13 more than ten years ago.
There are isolated bright spots
After all, it is planned for July to fill a cash register surgery in the 15th district. Then only 14 checkout counters will be vacant. A new checkout office has been open in Favoriten for about a month. In the new Sonnwendviertel, in the so-called Cape10, near the main train station, the new cash register for paediatrics opened at the beginning of May.
According to doctor Sevinc Yildirim, who runs the new surgery with a second pediatrician, the rush is great. 150 to 200 children per day have to be taken care of. The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) is confident that it will be able to open the first primary care unit for children in autumn. Negotiations with the medical association have been going on for some time.
Medical Association calls for reforms
Rapid initiatives are needed to rectify deficiencies in the health care system of the Viennese, underlined Ferenci: “First and foremost is the time factor: more time for training, more time for patients and more time for the regeneration of the health staff. First and foremost, this includes an effective reduction in bureaucracy in everyday hospital life in order to relieve doctors of office work. A reform of medical training in hospitals is also urgently needed. Currently, due to the lack of time and financial resources, this is taking place more “on the side”.