The new regulation is intended to attract more veterinarians
Business
The state co-payment for veterinary practices for night and weekend services is intended to attract more veterinarians to Salzburg. Both the veterinary directorate and the chamber of veterinarians hope so. Because the model has a pioneering role throughout Austria.
From January 1st, veterinarians in Salzburg will receive a flat rate from the state of Salzburg for night or weekend service – as a so-called “basic amount”, in addition to the treatment fees that the pet owners have to pay.
This system has a pioneering role in Austria, says Salzburg’s Chamber of Veterinarians, Gernot Eibl. And it can alleviate the labor shortage in the industry, he strengthens. It is intended to be an incentive for “young colleagues who say, ‘Where am I going, where am I settling down?’ They will certainly choose that federal state or region where the conditions are best. And that’s possibly a motivation to say: Ok, I’ll go to Salzburg.”
“Other federal states are under a lot of pressure”
The President of the Salzburg State Chamber of Veterinarians also noted “that the other federal states are under a lot of pressure. That’s a good thing, because it’s very important for the entire industry to really be able to continue to maintain around-the-clock supply.”
Change in the veterinary profession
The background to the innovation is also a change among veterinarians. The baby boomer generation is retiring. The self-employed veterinarian with a private practice, who is there day and night for his four-legged patients, is becoming increasingly rare – even if the professional ethic is still very high, the state of Salzburg is also monitoring.
85 percent of the young veterinarians are women – and they often work part-time or as employees in larger ordinations. However, surcharges and mandatory rest periods are due for night and weekend shifts, especially in the case of employed doctors, even if nothing is going on and there is no income from treatment fees. In order to compensate for this, the state of Salzburg introduced the flat rate for night and weekend services in January.