Gmünd prepares appeal after hospital lawsuit is dismissed

The city of Gmünd is preparing an appeal after a court dismissed its lawsuit against Lower Austria over the planned closure of the hospital, ORF reported. The city plans to put forward a motion supported by all parties at the next municipal council meeting.

The lawsuit, filed on 4 September, sought to enforce a guarantee in a 2004 transfer agreement that the hospital would remain at its current location. The Regional Court in Krems dismissed the case last week, ruling that the claim was a matter of public law rather than civil law and could not be brought before it. The decision is not final.

Before the lawsuit was filed, about 92 per cent of voters in a 28 June referendum in the Waldviertel district town backed taking legal action. The municipal council then unanimously approved pursuing it.

Under Lower Austria’s Health Plan 2040+, the existing regional hospital is to be replaced by a health clinic. The hospital is to remain open at its current location until the new facility begins operating, with completion planned for 2028.

The planned clinic is to provide round-the-clock emergency and first-aid care, an outpatient surgery centre, an emergency doctor base and a helicopter landing pad. Plans also include a centre specialising in care for people with chronic illnesses, specialist medical practices, a primary care centre and a radiology centre. Plans to end inpatient beds have drawn criticism in recent months.