“Unacceptable conditions”: Long queue in front of the doctor’s office

Patients waited in a meter-long line along the street to make an appointment, reported ORF Tirol and “Kleine Zeitung”. Tyrol’s black Chamber of Labor President Erwin Zangerl spoke of around 150 people who wanted to get an appointment and criticized “unacceptable conditions”.

After a doctor retired at the end of the year, according to the ORF, only three ophthalmologists remained for East Tyrol and some regions of Upper Carinthia, two of them elective doctors. The doctor concerned, in front of whose practice door people had been queuing since 5.30 a.m., made new appointments from Monday.

For Zangerl a “completely unreasonable” situation, which he traced back to the reform of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK): “This is another example that the structure of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund completely ignores the reality of life. The centralism of the ÖGK is also cumbersome, enormous expensive and totally ignores regional needs,” he said. It has been known for six months that the district is understaffed.

Lienz Mayor Elisabeth Blanik (SPÖ) also criticized the fact that there was only one panel doctor in Lienz: “That is definitely not enough for the district. Upper Carinthia is also part of our catchment area. Work is being done on at least one second panel to fill. The medical association and the regional health insurance fund are now required,” she said.

When asked by the APA, the ÖGK said that the situation in Lienz was “known”: “We are working hard to find a quick solution to ensure ophthalmological care there too”. Talks are being held with possible successors and with the state of Tyrol. “One possible solution is increased cooperation with the hospital sector. We have already been able to achieve forms of cooperation of this type in the past,” says the ÖGK.