Kostelka: Re-examination
Dental Prosthesis
A 19-year-old woman from Schwarzach is regarded as a medical special case. Her jaw-bones are so weak that only a few of her second teeth could grow. Besides chewing and speaking problems, the psychological strain was immense. For years, no medical solutions have been found until last year, were the plan for a special dental prosthesis came up. But the costs are too high for her family, so they turned to Ombudsman Kostelka. He criticized in April 2010 that nobody at the insurance company in Salzburg felt responsible for the problem. Normally, a fixed prosthodontics is not covered by health insurance. But since this is a special case, which does not allow a removable partial denture, the insurance company is responsible. The insurance company of Salzburg promised a solution and kept its promise. At the moment, the girl is being treated at the AKH in Vienna; the health insurance fund Salzburg will cover 100 % of the costs.
Smoking Bans
How is the implementation of the highly controversial Smoking Act enforced after the transitional period? Are there any disciplinary measures taken for violations or are the authorities turning a blind eye? The self-appointed “Smoking-Sheriff,” Dietmar Erlacher, estimates that around 4,500 charges have been filed in Austria. 75 percent of the restaurants and bars with less than 50m² chose to be smoking venues. The Ministry of Health assured that the district authorities definitely verify the compliance with the law, even if the cities of Vienna and Salzburg are not.
Ombudsman Dr. Peter Kostelka criticized that the authorities hardly ever control on their own initiative. Even thought they checked the implementation of Austrian food law as well as the closing and opening regulations, the authorities tend to overlook the smoking ban. “This situation is unsatisfying. I will insist on a proper implementation of the new law and on controls”, said Kostelka.
Contergan
Around 50 years ago, the new sedative Contergan (Thalidomide) was introduced on the market by a pharmaceutical company and prescribed to pregnant women – with severe consequences: children were born with deformities. Austrian victims have not yet received any compensation. Most of them, now between 46 and 52 years old, missed the application deadline in Germany through no fault of their own. The Austrian authorities have not yet given any financial support either. Ombudsman Kostelka appealed several times for another deadline – with success. A new regulation allocated an additional 100 million Euros for aggrieved parties. Victims who haven’t yet received any compensation may file a claim till end of 2010. The Austrian Ministry of Health announced that victims will receive 2.8 million Euros from Austrian funds. At present, experts are investigating cases, which have not yet been officially recognized as Austrian contergan-victims, to find out whether they could benefit from the money raised. “Improvements have been made concerning this matter, but no compensation has yet been paid. Hopefully all will be resolved by the end of the year”, said Ombudsman Dr. Peter Kostelka.
Children Rehabilitation
In Austria, about 250 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year and have to undergo long and troublesome therapies. There are around 7.000 rehabilitation places for grown-ups, but not one family-oriented child- and youth-institution for rehabilitation. Furthermore, there is no clear regulation whether a child is entitled to get rehabilitation. “In Austria, not enough is done for children in rehabilitation”, criticized Ombudsman Kostelka in December 2009. For the first time he got the Ministry of Health to collects data on the number of children concerned. Furthermore, a work group for children and adolescents in rehabilitation has been set up which consists of top medical experts as well as representatives of the insurance companies.
Professional Retraining
In September 2009, Ombudsman Kostelka reported about the tragic destiny of a nurse. Without it being her fault, she got into two accidents and due to health problems could not carry out her profession anymore. After a “job finding seminar” by AMS (Public Employment Service Austria) she decided on a re-education as a chemist. But the pension insurance company as well as AMS rejected taking over the costs for four years of higher technical education. The insurance company of the first driver would not pay the loss of earnings or her re-education. In the meantime, she has already successfully completed her first year and Ombudsman Kostelka achieved that the pension insurance company and AMS take over the costs.
Expensive Special Nutrition
In May 2010, Ombudsman Kostelka advocated successfully for little Luca. The boy suffers from neurodermatitis and has food intolerance, which is why he requires special food. The intense care of the 19-month-old boy is not only a psychological strain, but the family also depends on financial support and has to apply for support for the special nutrition regularly. In the second year of his life, this support was rejected despite recommendations by experts. They said that Luca was not an infant anymore but a child and so could be fed without milk. After Ombudsman Kostelka confronted the health insurance company with this case, the insurance company came around and accepted to refund all the costs of this special nutrition.