After the quarrels last year, the two curiae of the Vienna Medical Association have new leadership. Now Natalja Haninger-Vacariu (employee) and Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied (resident) have been sworn in. We met both of them separately for an interview.
Natalja Haninger-Vacariu is in charge of employed doctors. The atmosphere for discussions with the city and the health association was already better.Krone: Ms. Dr. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu, there has been some turbulence in the Vienna Medical Association in the past few months. What makes you different from your predecessor?Dr. Natalja Haninger-Vacariu: Of course we have to point out the problems in the hospitals. I understand my role as a mouthpiece and mediator. Last year, your predecessor developed a very detailed ten-point plan to improve Vienna’s hospitals. Which of these still applies to you? This guide was the result of a survey among doctors. This is an agenda that we have to work through with the city and the Vienna Health Association. Are there discussions going on? They have now started again. We have already had an appointment with the health association with good solutions. Are there any details? I ask for your understanding that we do not want to get ahead of ourselves. Further discussions will follow. It is important to consider which goals can be achieved first. Where do you see the most important points? We have to slow down the exodus of staff from the public health system. This is only possible with attractive working conditions and competitive salaries. City councilor Hacker has already announced that he will address the salary scheme because Vienna ranks in the lower midfield when compared to federal states. We need noticeable improvements. That will be the basis of our discussions. Reducing bureaucracy is also important, our colleagues have far too little time for the patients – that creates frustration. Has there already been an appointment with City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker? We made an appointment at the end of April. The employed doctors went on strike in the fall. It was said that there could be further measures in the spring. Will this exist? At the moment we have a good basis for discussion. I hope we don’t have to take this step.After just one meeting with the health association?It was quite constructive.Did you support the strike yourself?I always support the demands of my colleagues.Were you there?Yes. Another topic: How was the powerful Vienna Medical Association able to avoid the Böhler debacle for so long? We are doctors, not fire protection experts. When we found out about it, our colleague Dr. Heinz Brenner represented on site. What’s next for the colleagues there? Would you advise your colleagues to switch to the Vienna Health Association? (laughs) There are still many unanswered questions. However, we are committed to ensuring that the well-functioning teams are not torn apart. Has the medical association suffered any damage after the quarrels? Technical work is now the focus. Is the work in the chamber more strenuous than last year? Ultimately, payments to officials were increased by 45 percent. In principle, there is a lot of work, but I am not the right point of contact, but the finance officer. You may have to look at whether the money is being used well. Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied is responsible for resident doctors in Vienna. She is quickly calling for better conditions for statutory health insurance physicians.Krone: Dr. Kamaleyan-Schmied, there have been some quarrels in the Vienna Medical Association in recent months. You yourself have been an official for a long time. What is the mood?Dr. Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied: (laughs) We have fun here, don’t we? Absolutely. No, seriously. We are doing much better now. Our employees in the chamber also feel this. Why is that? We now have more estrogen in the chamber. That’s all? Or is it due to the increase in payments to officials from 2.27 to 3.28 million euros? After all, a whopping 45 percent. No, it’s the estrogen. It is calmer. You can work better. But honestly. There is even more work to be done. Unfortunately, a lot of scorched earth was left behind. This needs to be worked through. We work hard on it every day and spend more time in the chamber than ever before. After the discussions among the hospital doctors – keyword: strike or Lorenz Böhler – the private sector has fallen into the background. What about resident doctors? We need more health insurance offices, we need more doctors in the system, and above all we need better framework conditions. We don’t have a shortage of doctors, but of statutory health insurance physicians. Today we treated 160 patients in my practice in just a few hours. And that was a quiet day. No wonder that many people don’t want to go through that. The federal government has launched a 100,000 euro starting bonus for 100 new statutory health insurance doctors. Are you looking forward to meeting your new colleagues? As we both know, of the supposedly over 400 applicants, probably not many are eligible to take on a cashier position. The additional positions and the bonus for the so-called shortage subjects are good in principle, but the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. So you’re not a fan of the solution? A one-off payment is a drop in the ocean when setting up an ordination. There are enough sectors where entrepreneurs do not receive a starting bonus. Therefore, I would also adapt the framework conditions so that doctors voluntarily join the health insurance system. In the past, everyone wanted a health insurance contract because it was still attractive. Unfortunately, that is over. When did the system become imbalanced? There used to be more doctors and less bureaucracy. We have 40 percent more patient contacts per doctor than a few years ago. The time with the patients is becoming less and less. Now you are sitting at the negotiating table. What are your specific demands? Fair and performance-related fees and a uniform catalog of services are needed quickly. We also have to talk about inflation adjustment and abolishing the “fake sales tax exemption”. What would the result be? Significantly more statutory health insurance doctors and therefore more time for patients. Our public health spending is high, but healthy life years are not increasing at the same rate. In an ideal system, this would save a lot of suffering, improve the quality of life and maintain the ability to work for longer.
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