Lower Austria rescue reform schedule backed by aid groups

Lower Austria’s planned overhaul of its emergency rescue system is feasible by 1 April 2027, the Austrian Red Cross and Samaritan Federation said after a meeting of the state parliament’s Health Committee, according to ORF.

The organisations’ state presidents said the timetable was “secured”. They also reaffirmed that existing structures would only be changed once replacement services were available.

State councillors Anton Kasser and Martin Antauer, along with parliamentary group leaders Kurt Hackl and Reinhard Teufel, said the new structures could be ready by 1 April 2027 at the latest.

Health state councillor Eva Prischl of the Social Democrats was more reserved after the meeting. She said she had completed her part of the work but would again ask the other parties in writing to report on progress and whether the reform could really be implemented by the target date.

Social Democratic parliamentary group leader Rene Zonschitz said the closure of emergency doctor bases on 1 April 2027 could not go ahead because an equivalent replacement was currently lacking.

Hans Ebner, president of the Lower Austrian Red Cross, said work on the new structures had been progressing at full speed and that the organisation would ensure there was nothing to prevent the new system from being introduced on 1 April 2027.

Hannes Sauer, president of the Lower Austrian Samaritan Federation, said the new system would be more closely coordinated and targeted. The key point, he said, was that the right emergency resource should be dispatched to each call.

Christian Fohringer, managing director of Notruf NÖ, said there was currently no reason to change the timetable. An emergency doctor also pointed to major waves of retirements among medical specialists, saying available resources therefore had to be used more precisely.

Dispute over emergency doctor bases

Kasser said the goal was for the right emergency resource to reach patients as quickly as possible and take them to a facility capable of providing the appropriate treatment.

Antauer said the changes would be introduced in an orderly and responsible manner, and only once the new services were actually available. Hackl said the meeting had confirmed that the rescue organisations could provide the necessary structures for the planned reform.

The Social Democrats have repeatedly criticised the planned closure of 11 of the state’s current 32 emergency doctor bases under the Health Plan 2040+.

After the meeting, the party again said changes to existing bases could only take place once the replacement structures had been implemented, tested and shown to be at least equivalent. Zonschitz said the resources controlled by the Austrian People’s Party and Freedom Party still left many questions unanswered.

The opposition parties expressed differing views. Green Party politician Silvia Moser told ORF that her remaining doubts had not been resolved. NEOS politician Edith Kollermann said residents continued to have concerns, particularly in places where changes were planned, but that alarmism and uncertainty would not help. The priority, she said, was ensuring that emergency care worked in the future.