Districts unoccupied

Many GPs are once again absent over the Easter holidays

And the groundhog greets us daily: there hardly seems to be a holiday without a shortage of GPs on call in Carinthia. This is once again the case over the Easter holidays, when many districts remain unoccupied, especially in Upper Carinthia.

In addition to Kirchbach, Kötschach-Mauthen and St. Lorenzen, Oberdrauburg, Dellach, Obervellach and Mallnitz, as well as Heiligenblut, Winklern and Stall are also affected - for three whole days, from Saturday to Monday inclusive.

In Lower Carinthia, the situation only looks similarly modest in Bad St. Leonhard and Reichenfels.

"Of the almost 120 service units that need to be staffed over Easter, only 24 are unoccupied. This is basically a very satisfactory result," according to the office of Health Minister Beate Prettner (SP).

And it adds: "The open wards are covered by the new mobile teams that have emerged from the visiting services and are operated by the Samaritans and the Medical Association. Doctors from surrounding districts can also step in and take over patients."