30 general practitioner positions are vacant in Upper Austria as of January 1st, four are filled on an interim basis, plus one vacancy for a dermatologist, three positions for gynecologists and seven for paediatricians – these figures show that the shortage of doctors in Upper Austria is getting worse and worse.
But the shortage is not only acute among “conventional” doctors, but also among dentists. “Despite repeated advertisements, we often don’t find anyone for a practice either,” says Günter Gottfried, President of the Dental Association. “The situation is almost worse for us than for general practitioners.” Because of 383 health insurance offices in Upper Austria, 26 are currently vacant and around 37 percent of active dentists are between 59 and 65 years old. “We’ve been drawing attention to the problem for years, because it’s not surprising that the baby boomer generation is now slowly retiring,” says Gottfried, adding: “Unfortunately, nothing happened on the part of politics.”
280 study places
On the contrary, two years ago the approach to studying was changed. “Since then, there have no longer been any access restrictions for foreign students. When it comes to studying general medicine, at least 75 percent of the places are reserved for Austrians, but we don’t have that anymore,” says Gottfried, adding: “That’s why many numerus clausus bypassers come from Germany to study, but then don’t practice with us.” In view of the fact that there are only around 280 university places in Austria, the shortage is exacerbated. “That’s why we’ve been calling for years to increase the number of training places,” says Gottfried, “but now it’s almost too late. That should have happened ten or 15 years ago.”
How then to combat the shortage of dentists? “We have to adapt the current realities to the work situation,” says Gottfried. What does he mean? “On the one hand, we have to take into account that the profession is becoming more female, 60 percent of the graduates are women. This means that the compatibility of career and family must move more into focus. In addition, the young doctors value the work create a life balance.” However, he does not consider primary care units, as currently popular with general practitioners, to be good. “Germany must be a warning example there. Investors there see such centers purely as profit optimisation. Dentistry must not degenerate into this.”
Cooperation between doctors would be better. “We are currently working on solutions together with the health insurance company,” says Gottfried, who emphasizes “that the cooperation works extremely well in Upper Austria. There is a very good basis for discussion between the chamber and the health insurance company. But unfortunately, the decisions are now being made in Vienna due to the merger of the health insurance companies , that complicates things.” (fawn)
Source: Nachrichten
