“Concerned citizens call me every day because they have already called all the doctors within a ten-kilometer radius and nobody is accepting patients anymore,” says VP Mayor Daniel Lang of the emergency in Mattighofen. The city is threatened with a shortage of general practitioners in a few days. As reported, Helmut Winkler will close his practice in 22 days. All that remains is the joint practice of Thomas and Magdalena Steidl.
With 4000 patients per quarter, the Steidls can no longer take any more patients. The search for successors for the two doctor’s positions that are now vacant in Mattighofen is in full swing, so far without success. That unsettles the Mattighofner: “People ask me where they get prescriptions or referrals to specialists. Before Doctor Hochreiter closed his practice in 2014, there were four medical practices with a population of less than 6,000. Today we have around 7,300 inhabitants and one of Doctor Steidl’s medical practices. It’s crazy,” says Lang.
A successor would receive a one-off payment of 10,000 euros from the municipality. However, this support bears no fruit.
Four of the currently open family doctor positions in the Braunau district are in the cities of Braunau, Altheim and two in Mattighofen. The reason for this city doctor problem should therefore clearly be the medicine chest, which is a lucrative second mainstay. If there is a public pharmacy near the practice, as is the case in the cities, the doctor is not permitted to have a house pharmacy. Lang only sees an opportunity in changing this regulation.
primary care center?
The problem in Mattighofen is known to both the medical association and the health insurance company (ÖGK). “We took measures at an early stage to prevent an imminent gap in care. There was already a meeting with the general practitioners in and around Mattighofen in 2020. Various options for expanding medical capacities were presented, such as extended deputies, expansion to group practices. These some doctors in the area also used it,” says the ÖGK when asked by OÖN. “We agree with the state and the medical association that Mattighofen is a very suitable location for a primary care center. In addition to the attractive fee, there are currently high investment subsidies from EU funds. Regardless of the desired type of practice, we invite interested parties to to get in touch,” the statement said.
A note: The Internet platform arztsuche.aekooe.at shows those doctors who still have free resources.
Source: Nachrichten
