Fierce political debates

What 30 million euros will do for healthcare

With the salaries of the employees of the provincial health agency, the St. Pölten Clinic could only be operated for 23 days.(Bild: Attila Molnar)

Few topics are currently as hotly debated as healthcare. Now the math is being done ...

Hospital doctors are to earn more money in future. As reported, doctors will in future receive an extra 1000 euros for full-time employment in the blue and yellow hospitals - and for night shifts there will be a hardship allowance of 200 euros per shift. The state government is making 64 million euros available for this. Salary negotiations for nursing staff in the hospitals are still ongoing.

Costs are a hot topic
Which puts the focus on the financing of the healthcare system. SPÖ chairman Sven Hergovich wants to secure the future of medicine with a three-point plan. The SPÖ provincial councillor calculates that 30 million euros could be saved if the provincial health agency (LGA) were dissolved. A lot of money. But compared to the total expenditure for the healthcare system, it is a rather small sum. With 30 million euros, for example, the St. Pölten University Hospital could be operated for just 23 days. This does not include the costs of all other provincial hospitals.

ÖVP: "Do not engage in envy debates"
Matthias Zauner, Managing Director of the ÖVP (Austrian People's Party), points out that this would mean that the LGA would not be able to provide important services and coordination and says: "For me, one thing is certain: envy debates do not help our healthcare system. Hergovich should understand that too!"