Good health that lasts

What makes Austria’s (and Carinthia’s) healthcare system stand out is that it offers the same, straightforward access to all healthcare services for anyone with health insurance, from speedy emergency care to organising long-term care. Wherever you are in Carinthia, help will be at hand within 15 minutes at the utmost. This is possible thanks to a medical on-call service where doctors are available around the clock in 36 districts, nine emergency care bases that are staffed on 365 days a year, and an air ambulance service with three bases.

643 general practitioners in Carinthia provide medical care close to home, while specialists will take care of specific complaints. And should your GP surgery be closed for whatever reason, you can call 1450 at any time of day or night for competent advice when you feel unwell, yet not unwell enough to call an emergency doctor. Medical centres where several doctors operate under one roof offer longer, patient-friendly opening hours and make it easy to get seen by several doctors in a single day. Carinthia’s 15 hospitals are internationally renowned for their state-of-the-art medical technology and have recently extended their day clinic capacities, reflecting the trend towards shorter hospital stays and same-day treatments. Carinthia is also the province with the shortest waiting times for inpatient as well as outpatient treatments in Austria.

Against the backdrop of an ageing society, Carinthia has initiated a range of measures in the fields of geriatric medicine and care: Community nurses, free respite for caregiving relatives, 28 free short-term care services or support services for caregivers are pioneering measures that are still a long way off in other parts of Austria.

As good healthcare starts with maintaining physical and mental wellbeing, Carinthia sets great store by prevention: 117 of 132 municipalities are certified “healthy communities”, which entails a whole bundle of health-promoting measures that benefit the population. Even at pre-school level, projects are implemented that show the little ones just how much we can do ourselves to stay fit and healthy. Together with its municipalities, the province of Carinthia thus promotes the three “secret weapons” of prevention: exercise, a healthy diet and an intact social environment. These are promoted, supported and pushed at every level.