Relatives desperate

Boy waits a year for surgery despite respiratory failure

Christine M. (58) fights for her grandson, who stops breathing at night and urgently needs an operation - waiting time one year(Bild: Zwefo)

Many patients in Austria share a common fate: endless waiting times for life-changing operations rob them of hope, while Vienna's hospitals are at their absolute capacity limits. Christine M., for example, is fighting for her grandson, who regularly stops breathing at night.

For years, they have paid into the health insurance fund and relied on the security of the healthcare system. But now, when they are in urgent need of necessary operations, they are let down by long waiting times and overburdened clinics. The examples of Christin M. and Brankica K. show just how much patients suffer.