Caritas President Appeals to Government: “We Need Healthcare Reform Quickly” – Coronavirus Vienna

The nursing care reform announced by the federal government in January has taken a back seat due to the crown crisis. Caritas President Michael Landau is now urging to tackle reform quickly. The nursing profession in particular must be strengthened. Landau expects Caritas to become part of the government task force starting in the fall.

“Like under a magnifying glass, this pandemic makes the strengths and weaknesses of care visible and clear. We need care reform. And we need it quickly,” the Caritas president said at a press conference Thursday. Landau sees the improvement of the nursing profession as the first and most important key point of the reform. The heroes of the crisis must not only be applauded, but also strengthened.

According to a study by the Austrian Institute for Health Research (GÖG), Austria will need an additional 75,000 caregivers by 2030. At the moment, the trend is downward, said the president of the Catholic aid organization. Caritas requires training and job security. Access to the nursing profession must be created through all possible educational avenues. Landau is pleased with the Higher Education Nursing and Social Care Institution (HLSP) in Gaming in Lower Austria, which begins on September 9. The five-year school is run by Caritas and ends with a Matura. Something similar is planned for Caritas schools in Styria, Carinthia and Vienna from the 2021/22 school year.

The financial obstacles to the caring profession should also be overcome if Caritas has its way. She calls for the abolition of school and tuition fees. The change should also be made easier for lateral participants, for example through part-time training. Today some of them are forced to liquidate their savings. “That can’t be the last word in wisdom,” Landau said.

The president sees closing the care gaps as the second key point of care reform: “Everyone should find the right form of care for them.” Those currently in need of care have the option of being served for a few hours or 24 hours by mobile services or going to hospital care. According to Landau, more day centers and short-term care are needed. The current framework conditions are not especially adapted to people with dementia. They are usually in good physical shape and do not need traditional care. However, they could no longer cope with their daily life alone. For example, because they forget to turn off the stove.

In February, the Court of Accounts ruled that the federal and state governments acted in an uncoordinated manner in the care sector. Landau agrees with this judgment. Therefore, it wants “uniform frameworks of quality, supply and financing from Lake Constance to Lake Neusiedl.” Only when these points have been clarified should it be discussed how care can be financed. Landau declined to give specific figures when asked, but “money should not fail to ensure that people have access to the care they need.”

Rudolfine Fiklik, a resident of the Caritas nursing home in Schönbrunn, criticized the staff situation. “People are overwhelmed in every way.” They could not dedicate themselves to their families or their patients. Therefore, Fiklik wants more staff and better salaries for caregivers. The nursing director of the Schönbrunn house, Irena Udric, drew attention to the difficult working conditions. Employees wanted fixed to-do lists so they could plan better. Another great wish is more free time. However, at the request of the APA, Landau abolished the demands of several unions to reduce the working day to 35 hours in the social sector: The celebration of the collective agreement announced in April this year was one of the highest in comparison with other industries – “and rightly so.” Additionally, the KV plans to shorten working hours to 37 hours starting in 2022.

Social Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) announced in the summer that the reform process that had been halted by the crown crisis would resume. An online survey was conducted in July and August and 3,000 people participated. In September, Anschober wants to continue the dialogue tour interrupted by the federal states. The Nursing Working Group should then elaborate the reform. Landau assumes that Caritas will become part of this working group. A reform is much more successful “the more closely the professionals are listened to.”