Two new chairwomen

“The Medical Association now has significantly more estrogen”

Following last year's disputes, the two curiae of the Vienna Medical Association have new leadership. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu (right) and Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied (left) have now been sworn in.(Bild: Klemens Groh, Krone KREATIV)

After last year's disputes, the two boards of the Vienna Medical Association have new leadership. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu (employees) and Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied (practitioners) have now been sworn in. We met both of them separately for an interview. 

Natalja Haninger-Vacariu is in charge of the salaried doctors. The climate of discussion with the city and the health association was already better.

Krone: Dr. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu, there has been some turbulence at the Vienna Medical Association in recent months. What distinguishes you from your predecessor?
Dr. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu: Of course we have to point out the problems in the hospitals. I see my role as a mouthpiece and mediator.

Last year, your predecessor drew up a very detailed ten-point plan to improve Vienna's hospitals. Which of these are still valid for you?
These guidelines were the result of a survey of doctors. It's an agenda that we have to work through with the city and the Vienna Health Association.

Dr. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu is the new Chairwoman of the Curia of Employed Doctors and 1st Vice President of the Chamber.(Bild: klemens groh)

Are there any talks?
They have started again in the meantime. We've already had an appointment with the health association with good solutions.

Are there any details?
Please understand that we don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Further talks will follow. We need to weigh up which goals can be achieved first.

Where do you see the most important points?
We need to slow down the exodus of staff from the public healthcare system. This is only possible with attractive working conditions and competitive salaries. City Councillor Hacker has already announced that he will tackle the salary scheme, because Vienna ranks in the lower midfield compared to other federal states. We need tangible improvements. That will be the basis of our talks. Reducing bureaucracy is also important, our colleagues have far too little time for patients - that creates frustration.

Have you already had an appointment with City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker?
We have made an appointment at the end of April.

The salaried doctors went on strike in the fall. It was said that there could be further measures in the spring. Will there be?
We have a good basis for talks at the moment. I hope we won't have to take this step.

The new heads of the curia were sworn in on Monday by Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig at City Hall in the presence of Medical Association President Johannes Steinhart.(Bild: Stefan Seelig)

After just one meeting with the health association?
It was quite constructive.

Did you support the strike yourself?
I always support my colleagues' demands.

Were you there?
Yes.

Another topic: how did the powerful Vienna Medical Association manage to avoid the Böhler debacle for so long?
We are doctors, not fire safety experts. When we found out about it, our colleague Dr. Heinz Brenner was there.

What will happen to your colleagues there now? Doyou advise your colleagues to switch to the Vienna Healthcare Association?
(laughs) There are still many unanswered questions. However, we are committed to ensuring that the well-functioning teams are not torn apart.

Has the Medical Association suffered any damage after the quarrels?
The focus is now on practical work.

Is the work in the Chamber more strenuous than last year? After all, payments to officials were increased by 45 percent.
In principle, there is a lot of work, but I'm not the right person to contact, it's the finance officer. We may have to look at whether the money has been put to good use. 

Dr. Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied is 2nd Vice-President of the Vienna Chamber and represents doctors in private practice.(Bild: klemens groh)

Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmiedis responsible for doctors in private practice in Vienna. She is calling for better framework conditions for panel doctors.

Krone: Dr. Kamaleyan-Schmied, there have been a number of disputes in the Vienna Medical Chamber in recent months. You yourself have been an official for a long time. What is the mood like?
Dr. Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied: (laughs) We have a good time here, don't we?

Absolutely.
No, seriously. We're doing much better now. Our employees in the chamber feel that too.

Why is that?
We now have more oestrogen in the chamber.

Is that all? Or is it due to the increase in payments to officials from 2.27 to 3.28 million euros? A whopping 45 percent, after all.
No, it's the oestrogen. It's calmer. You can work better. But quite honestly. There's even more work to be done. Unfortunately, a lot of scorched earth has been left behind. That has to be dealt with. We work on it every day with full commitment and spend more time in the chamber than ever before.

The private practice sector has taken a back seat after the discussions among hospital doctors - keyword: strike or Lorenz Böhler. What is the situation for doctors in private practice?
We need more practice posts, we need more doctors in the system and, above all, we need better framework conditions. We don't have a shortage of doctors, we have a shortage of panel doctors. We treated 160 patients in my surgery today in just a few hours. And it was a quiet day. No wonder many people don't want to do that.

The federal government has launched the 100,000 euro start-up bonus for 100 new panel doctors. Are you already looking forward to the new colleagues?
As we both know, not many of the supposedly more than 400 applicants are likely to be eligible to take over a practice. The additional posts and the bonus for the so-called shortage subjects are good in principle, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

So you're not a fan of the solution?
A one-off payment is a drop in the ocean when setting up a practice.

There are enough sectors where entrepreneurs don't get a start-up bonus.
That's why I would also adapt the framework conditions so that doctors voluntarily join the health insurance scheme. In the past, everyone wanted a health insurance contract because it was still attractive. Unfortunately, that's over.

When did the system become unbalanced?
There used to be more doctors and less bureaucracy. We have 40 percent more patient contacts per doctor than a few years ago. There is less and less time with patients.

Now you are sitting at the negotiating table. What are your specific demands?
We need fair and performance-based fees and a standardized catalog of services quickly. We also need to talk about adjusting for inflation and abolishing the "false VAT exemption".

What would be the result?
Significantly more panel doctors and therefore more time for patients. Our state healthcare expenditure is high, but healthy life years are not increasing to the same extent. In an ideal system, this would save a lot of suffering, improve quality of life and maintain the ability to work for longer.