"Krone" reader appeal

Crisis in the healthcare system: What have you experienced?

How long do you wait for an urgently needed operation?(Bild: Gorodenkoff Productions OU)

Treated too late - or not at all. Long waiting times in outpatient clinics. Operations on the last day of the month. Patient blockages at the GP. We want to know: What experiences have you already had?

It's the system that's wrong, not the people who keep it going. The GP around the corner treats patients far beyond his opening hours. The nursing staff are working overtime non-stop. Doctors operate until they drop. They are all working on the patient called healthcare, who is gradually dying under their hands?

Exaggerated? Really?
In 2012, only one in six statutory health insurance pediatricians refused to accept new patients; today, more than half do. Viennese women wait an average of 32 days for an appointment with a gynecologist - in 2012 it was 8.
22 weeks - that's how long it takes for a patient to receive a new knee at the Floridsdorf clinic.
The Medical Association's health barometer reveals that 70 percent of patients in the survey believe that the healthcare system has taken the wrong direction. These analyses have been carried out since 2016 and the assessment has never been so poor, explained opinion researcher Peter Hajek. These are all figures. And behind each one is a person - apart from the current deaths in several federal states due to chronic underuse.

How long do you wait for an urgently needed operation?(Bild: Gorodenkoff Productions OU)

Tell us about your experiences
Now we want to know from our readers: How do you perceive healthcare in this country, in our city of Vienna?
How long do you wait for an appointment with a doctor? Or for a new hip? Does your family doctor around the corner still accept patients or do you have to search for them? Do your children have the best medical care?

Leseraufruf

Was haben Sie schon erlebt?

Mails an: [e-mail] Betreff: Gesundheit. Oder: Kronen Zeitung, Wien-Redaktion, Muthgasse 2, 1190 Wien.

Have you long since switched to expensive elective doctors because you have no time to waste? Are you (un)satisfied with the treatments on offer?
How much do you pay into the health insurance system each month - and do you get enough for it? Where does the healthcare system urgently need to make savings and where does much more money need to be pumped in?
Have you been the victim of incorrect treatment or malpractice, or where have you received sensationally good care? What have you experienced with doctors, nurses, the ambulance service - good and not so good. Tell us what moves you?

Fehlende Gelder:

Zukunft von Beratungszentrum ungewiss

The Viennese social association TIW - Teilhabe, Integration, Wiedereingliederung is sounding the alarm: the health center for disadvantaged young people run by the association is about to close. Funding from the "Z Zurich Foundation" will expire at the end of the year. There is no follow-up funding in sight.

Help for 600 young people every year
Since it was founded in 2021, the TIW Health Center has offered free medical and psychological support to young people in difficult circumstances. The aim is to break down health barriers so that young people can enter training and work. Around 600 young people receive individual support there every year, with a total of over 6,000 taking part in courses and workshops. "If the health center has to close, many young people will lose their only access to diagnostics and treatment," warns TIW Managing Director Andreas Pollak. The consequences would be dramatic: longer waiting times, untreated mental illnesses and a lack of prospects.

Hoping for further talks
The funding from the "Z Zurich Foundation" was limited to five years from the outset. Talks with the City of Vienna, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Chamber of Commerce and private foundations have so far been unsuccessful. According to TIW, the annual operating costs are around 500,000 euros. To avert the threat of closure, the association launched a petition. "We are not demanding luxury funding, but the preservation of an important basic service," says the association. They are hoping for further talks.