Structure Plan Lower Austria: Fewer Inpatient, More Outpatient Care

The Regional Health Structure Plan Lower Austria (RSG NÖ) 2030 envisions a significant expansion of outpatient care places. In the private practice sector, additional positions are planned, and the number of primary care units is to be significantly increased, as stated during a presentation with representatives from politics and the health sector on Wednesday in St. Pölten. For the Medical Association of Lower Austria (ÄKNÖ), the RSG remains partially too vague.

The RSG was unanimously approved by the state target steering committee on Monday this week and will come into effect on January 1, 2026. The basis is the "Health Plan 2040+". An interim evaluation of the RSG is planned for 2028, announced Volker Knestel, Managing Director of NÖGUS (Lower Austria Health and Social Fund).

Over 500 Additional Outpatient Care Places

The number of outpatient care places in the clinics is expected to increase by 547 to 710 by 2030 compared to 2023. For acute geriatrics and remobilization, a total of 273 beds will be available in the future. From 2026, initial care outpatient clinics will be established at the State Hospital Baden and subsequently in Amstetten. Overall, due to the ongoing shift to outpatient care, 577 inpatient beds will be eliminated. There will be a decrease, for example, in internal medicine and - due to the closure of four departments - in gynecology and obstetrics.

More Doctor Positions to Reduce Waiting Times

In the private practice sector, a total of over 113 additional positions are planned, with the aim of reducing waiting times according to Knestel. In general medicine, an initial expansion from 779 to 805 positions is intended. In specialist care, the largest expansion by region is planned in the Weinviertel, said Robert Leitner from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). However, in some areas, it is difficult to fill positions, he added. For example, dermatologists are currently being sought in eleven districts.

More Primary Care Centers and Children's Outpatient Clinics

By 2028, the number of Primary Care Units (PVE) in Lower Austria is to be expanded from 14 to 30. Five PVEs are currently being implemented. In Gmünd and Hollabrunn, a PVE is to be integrated with an outpatient clinic, announced Knestel. In Gmünd, after the planned closure of the hospital, a "24/7 first aid" will be maintained, he noted. Furthermore, by 2030, five children's primary care units and two children's outpatient clinics are planned. Currently, there is one children's PVE in St. Pölten. Pain-wound centers are also planned, as well as diabetes and endometriosis centers.

The plan will now be divided into packages, explained Elisabeth Bräutigam, head of the State Health Agency (LGA). As the first part, three locations for acute geriatrics/remobilization will be opened at the beginning of 2026. Three diabetes centers are to be operational by 2027.

"Healthcare System Under Significant Pressure"

"Our healthcare system is under significant pressure," said the state councilor responsible for NÖGUS, Martin Antauer (FPÖ). Increasing demand due to demographic development and staff shortages would lead to "unacceptable waiting times" in some hospitals and practices, "which we do not want and cannot accept." "We are tackling the problems at the root and adapting healthcare to the needs," emphasized Antauer. The state councilor responsible for the clinics, Anton Kasser (ÖVP), described the RSG as a "health policy and above all legally secured menu" that the LGA will follow in the future.

SPÖ club chairman Hannes Weninger - representing the ill red state councilor Eva Prischl - positively highlighted the goal of increasing medical training positions from 750 to 1,000. The RSG provides "planning and location security," he emphasized, also referring to a commitment to cross-state supply planning.

Medical Association Finds Plan Too Vague

The Medical Association for Lower Austria (ÄKNÖ) supports the goal of further developing the healthcare system, "but it requires more than announcements," said President Harald Schlögel at the press conference. "In our assessment, the draft remains too vague in crucial points and leaves central areas unconsidered or insufficiently considered." A department for general and family medicine in a hospital is not planned. This is also not possible based on the Austrian Health Structure Plan (ÖSG), Knestel noted. Regarding the announced pain, diabetes, and endometriosis centers, Schlögel saw open implementation questions, such as financing and medical responsibility. He criticized the creation of the RSG "without sufficient involvement" of the ÄKNÖ. However, the chamber is available as a partner for implementation.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.