Expansion is urgently needed; the healthcare system is on the brink because we are getting older

The population in Lower Austria is getting older. “A good sign for healthcare in this country,” says State Councilor for Social Affairs Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister. But this development is pushing the domestic care system as we know it today to its limits – and then quickly beyond it.

The need for care is increasing enormously
This is evident from the predictions of experts such as Professor Franz Kolland, gerontologist at the Karl Landsteiner University in Krems. The number of people receiving healthcare benefits will increase by up to 34 percent in 2035, and the need for care places will increase by up to 44 percent. Up to 51 percent more people than before will need 24-hour care, and up to 39 percent more people will need mobile care. To be prepared for these possible enormous increases, a healthcare strategy has been developed in Lower Austria that focuses mainly on three key points: “It is about the expansion of the intramural area, an offensive offer in healthcare and more digitalization,” explains Teschl- Hofmeister out. .

The expansion has already started
The healthcare infrastructure will be expanded by 300 million euros. “300 new places have already been created, hundreds more are currently being planned or built,” says the state councilor. For this purpose, personnel are recruited both in remote Vietnam and in our own country: “Training places are available in every region of the country.” The so-called senior living project will start in 2025 with five projects. This is an intensified form of assisted living.