New law

Styrians to receive short-term care in care homes

(Bild: stock.adobe.com - pixel-shot.com (Leonid Yastremskiy))

Negotiations took a long time, but now everything is in the bag: Styria is getting a new nursing and care law. One milestone in this is the legal establishment of short-term care in our nursing homes if required. 

After tough rounds of negotiations, white smoke rose on Monday afternoon: Styria is getting a new Care and Assistance Act, which will be hastily submitted for review today. The chief negotiators around ÖVP Health Minister Karlheinz Kornhäusl and SPÖ Social Affairs Minister Doris Kampus are in agreement, so the black and red mandataries will nod the bill through in a state parliament session before the summer.

Anchoring transitional care in law
Comments can now be submitted - and they will probably be forthcoming. The city of Graz had already feared in advance that the state would now also take over supervision of the private care homes in Graz. Which is now actually happening - it is a matter of standardized control throughout Styria and not primarily about the withdrawal of competences.

One of the chief negotiators: Health councillor Karlheinz Kornhäusl(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

What is the law about in broad terms? For example, an improvement in the area of "short-term care" will be a major achievement: Places can now be kept free in Styrian homes if patients need beds spontaneously and at short notice. Transitional care, for example for aftercare following operations, will also be regulated.

Other points that were the subject of intense debate right up to the end: Questions regarding the non-profit status of nursing home operators or precautions against blackouts.