Care of the future: Gmunden changes the course for older people!

Care of the future: Gmunden changes the course for older people!

In the coming years, the Gmunden district faces huge demographic challenges. By 2040, every fourth person will be over 65 years old, and the number of high altiters, i.e. those who are over 80 years old, will increase by impressive 67 percent. This means that the likelihood of needing care is around 75 percent from the age of 80, as the OÖVP Salzkammergut made it clear in a recently held social exam in Gmunden. Mayor Rudolf Raffelsberger and member of the state parliament emphasized that the topics of care and care must be actively designed in order to meet these challenges. The event asked central questions about the future care supply, which must be tailored to the needs of the population, according to Salzi .

District captain Alois Lanz presented the current situation: The Social Welfare Association (SHV) Gmunden is responsible for nine district senior homes and a comprehensive network of mobile services. This system has an annual volume of 127.7 million euros, with 38 million euros flow into the retirement homes, mainly for personnel costs. It should be borne in mind that, without corresponding countermeasures, 70 new homes in Upper Austria would be necessary by 2040 in order to meet the increasing requirements.

new forms of care and challenges

At this exam, the challenges in everyday care were also discussed. Representatives: Inside, a great need for inpatient care, social counseling and mobile services reported. New approaches are required, especially in the area of ​​preventive care by Community. State Councilor Christian Dörfel underlined the urgency of developing new forms of care in order to secure care for future generations. This happens against the background that 1.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) already flow into long -term care in Austria. The highest shares in Europe, on the other hand, are 3.4 percent in Norway and 3.2 percent in the Netherlands and Sweden, such as the Diakonie reported.

The demographic developments and changed clinical pictures also provide new demands on long -term care and care. In order to improve the payment of the nursing and care staff, the remuneration increasing subsidy law (EEZG) was implemented. From September 2022, payments to the federal states have already been initiated to support the nursing staff, which should improve the situation for qualified health and nursing staff as well as members of the social care professions. In addition, the care training purpose grant (PAUSBZG) was decided to make nursing training more attractive and to win young people for this profession.

future prospects for care

In 2023 to 2030, a need of 51,000 nursing and supervisory staff is forecast, which underlines urgency to increase training and job satisfaction in the nursing sector. Between 2024 and 2050, around 7,000 new specialists will be necessary to meet the requirements annually, according to the Social Ministry .

The results of the social examination should now flow into a working paper that defines important political steps to improve the care situation in the region. The OÖVP Salzkammergut has undertaken to promote dignified aging, which gives more relevance in view of the current developments.