Austria’s ALS Patients Fight for Life-Saving Tracheostomy Care Amid Systemic Gaps
Hundreds of Austrians rely on life-saving tracheostomy ventilation, yet many struggle to access proper care. These patients, often with severe conditions like ALS, need constant supervision from specialised nurses to prevent suffocation. But hospitals frequently refuse to admit them, leaving families and care providers to navigate a strained system.
Between 500 and 3,000 Austrians live with a tracheostomy—a surgical opening in the windpipe connected to a breathing tube. For those with incurable ALS, this form of ventilation can extend life by three to seven years, according to research from Berlin’s Charité Hospital. However, the care required is both intensive and costly.
Patients needing invasive ventilation must have round-the-clock monitoring by highly trained nurses. Yet hospitals often turn them away, forcing some into inadequate care or even leaving them stranded. Families sometimes take desperate measures, adjusting ventilation settings themselves due to a lack of support.
Four specialised companies—Curaplus, Care-Ring, Grubauer, and mid—provide home-based intensive care, offering 12- or 24-hour shifts with registered nurses. These firms charge between €60 and €100 per hour, but staffing and pay structures vary widely. Roughly 100 patients are in professional care homes, while another 100 receive at-home treatment.
The challenges don’t end there. Long waiting times, bureaucratic hurdles, and inconsistent hospital support add to the strain. Now, Austria’s federal states and the Social Ministry, led by Korinna Schumann (SPÖ), are in negotiations to address the sector’s future. Discussions focus on improving care standards, securing funding, and ensuring better availability for those who depend on this lifeline.
The current system leaves many ventilator-dependent patients and their families facing uncertainty. With hospitals reluctant to take them in and care firms operating under varying conditions, the need for clearer standards and reliable funding is urgent. The ongoing talks between regional authorities and the Social Ministry aim to resolve these issues—but for now, gaps in care remain.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
