Salzburg retirement homes

Residents to share rooms due to care shortage

Employees such as community service worker Armin Halilovic, carers and nursing staff are in high demand at the retirement home in Salzburg-Lehen.(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

The waiting list for care home places in the city of Salzburg has exploded from 219 to 368 people since February. In times of need, city politicians are relying on more caregivers to relieve the burden on nursing staff - and on old standards: in future, double rooms will no longer be reserved for married couples only.

While community service worker Armin Halilovic makes a resident's bed in the Salzburg-Lehen retirement home, an old man sits alone at a table in the lounge. The 23-year-old chats to the senior citizen for a while as soon as he comes out of the room. "At first, I was a bit scared about what it would be like here. But now I really like it," smiles Halilovic.