The job is still fulfilling, say those who should know. The carers in the Caritas houses St. Anna and St. Elisabeth in Linz still take great pleasure in their work. However, the conditions are becoming more and more difficult.
In talks with Governor Thomas Stelzer (VP) and Caritas President Michael Landau they described their situation yesterday morning. “For the areas of care and support, which are extremely demanding, we will need a lot of ideas in the future. We already have a huge need for qualified employees there, which will increase”, said Stelzer afterwards in a background discussion. In Upper Austria, important steps have already been taken, and more are to follow.
Stelzer sees the “young people” as a starting point. Because you lose many because there is no apprenticeship in nursing. “In Switzerland, nursing is the second most popular apprenticeship. We want to implement this training path in Upper Austria as well,” he said. A lion’s share of care and support is also done within the family. “In order to improve working conditions financially, there is the idea of the home care bonus,” said Stelzer.
- Video: Alliance for Nursing reform
The governor also made the federal government responsible: “The care fund, currently 417 million euros, urgently and massively needs to be topped up. The care reform must now get underway,” said Stelzer.
Caritas President Michael Landau also sees the reform as a central issue. “There have been umpteen attempts to implement it in the last 15 years. We can’t wait another 15 years,” he says. Relieving the burden on family carers and reforming the care allowance are points that must be implemented immediately. “Above all, dementia diseases are not taken into account accordingly,” says Landau. He also renewed his call for a “nursing summit”. (against)
