Healthcare and social affairs

Top-Quality Medical Care for Every Viennese Resident

Being sick or injured is something no one enjoys. However, if you do need medical assistance, you want to be sure you're in good hands. In Vienna, there’s no need to worry about this, as the city places a special emphasis on ensuring that everyone who needs medical help receives it. In more than 40 hospitals, including eight clinics of the Vienna Healthcare Group and nearly 20 hospitals run by private and religious organizations, top-quality medical care is provided—both in terms of the doctors and nurses as well as the latest equipment and labs. High-quality medical care is not only provided by Vienna’s hospitals but also through a dense network of private doctors. Around 1,500 general practitioners, 4,000 specialists, nearly 1,000 dentists, and more than 300 public pharmacies are essential elements of Vienna’s medical care.

Hospitals and General Practitioners Always Ready for Emergencies

To ensure that the more than 230,000 patients who are treated annually on an inpatient basis in the eight city-run hospitals receive round-the-clock care, a great deal of effort and perfect planning is required: over 30,000 employees ensure that hospital operations in Vienna can continue every day of the year. This is despite the fact that Vienna's emergency departments are sought for medical assistance almost five million times a year, about 500,000 inpatients need to be admitted, and more than 15,000 hospital beds need to be managed. With approximately 20,000 births annually and a steadily decreasing number of deaths over the decades, Vienna has a positive birth balance—a rarity for a large European city of this size.

Vienna's Emergency Services: On-Site Within 8 to 12 Minutes in Any Emergency

Anyone who has ever witnessed a medical emergency knows that every minute counts! Therefore, a dense, citywide network of emergency stations is necessary to ensure short distances to the places where help is needed. With a total of 19 stations from which emergency teams are dispatched, Vienna boasts an international comparison of a dense network that can provide emergency medical assistance to Viennese residents within minutes throughout the city. Whether in the center or on the outskirts, Vienna's emergency services arrive at the scene within 8 to 12 minutes—in life-threatening situations even faster! In addition to ambulances and emergency vehicles, large-capacity buses from the special operations group (SEG) and an intensive care bed transporter for critically ill patients are available. Moreover, the base of Vienna’s emergency medical helicopter is located in Vienna-Landstraße.

Vienna Focuses on Prevention

The city of Vienna places great importance on making it easy for the population to stay as fit and healthy as possible into old age. Alongside a healthy lifestyle, regular medical check-ups are crucial for avoiding serious illnesses or at least diagnosing them as early as possible. To support a healthy life, Vienna offers its residents not only hospitals and doctors' practices with primary care facilities but also specialized preventive care centers. Health prevention is practiced daily not only in hospitals, doctors' offices, and other healthcare facilities but also through opportunities provided by the city for residents to stay fit and healthy. Sixty motor skills and activity parks across Vienna ensure that everyone, young or old, can stay fit for free.

Healthcare Must Remain Crisis-Resilient and Robust

The quality of medical care in Vienna is independent of income, age, living conditions, origin, and individual financial capabilities. In Vienna, everyone receives high-quality medical care, even during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Viennese residents realized the importance of a well-developed and adequately equipped public health system during the pandemic. In times of crisis, people must be able to rely on excellent medical care. Top-quality medicine should benefit everyone in Vienna, not just those who can afford it. Additionally, Vienna places particular emphasis on ensuring that hospital operations continue smoothly even under high demand.

Everyone in Vienna Should Age with Dignity

Every Viennese resident should be able to age with dignity and receive the necessary care, regardless of their financial situation. The 30 "Houses for Living," with about 9,000 residential and care places, and 150 pensioners' clubs with approximately 24,000 visitors, contribute significantly to this goal. The clubs offer an appealing, rich, and modern leisure program—from excursions to Nordic walking to joint yoga sessions. The goal of the "Houses for Living" is to maintain the residents' individual abilities for as long as possible through targeted care and support measures. The offerings range from "supported living" to "assisted living" to "care living" in residential facilities. The city of Vienna also operates nine modern care facilities and a therapy center, ensuring that residents are well cared for around the clock, with individual needs respected and promoted. The home care enabled by the city of Vienna also allows for care within one's own four walls. To ensure that every resident in Vienna can experience a dignified farewell, Vienna also has a hospice system providing care and pain management for terminally ill individuals and support for their families.

For further information on healthcare and social services in Vienna, please visit:

City of Vienna. Health & Social Services https://www.wien.gv.at/english/health-socialservices/

Vienna Healthcare Group. Join our nursing team in Austria. https://gesundheitsverbund.at/nursing-jobs/

Häuser zum Leben. Introduction https://kwp.at/english/

Häuser zum Leben's information folder 'Living, assistance and care, tailored to your needs'