Waiting Lists and Waiting Times for Treatment in Austria 2012

"Although the capacities of addiction support and treatment services in Austria have been continually expanded, many centres have waiting lists, and clients have to accept waiting times, which, however, depend on many factors, and may vary greatly. For instance, in 2011 the OIKOS support and treatment centre (see also Chapter 11) usually had more applicants for residential treatment than available places (Oikos 2012), whereas in summer 2012, waiting times were virtually nil (Witting, personal communication). In January 2012, the clients of the b.a.s. outpatient service in Graz faced waiting times of between six and eight weeks before they could enter treatment, (b.a.s 2012a), whereas in July 2012, the waiting times were only two to four weeks (b.a.s 2012b).
"While the centres of the Maria Ebene Foundation report slightly smaller caseloads in 2011 (Stiftung Maria Ebene 2012b), the new Oikos support and cannabis outpatient services in Klagenfurt, which opened in autumn 2009, registered a considerable rise in clients in that year (Oikos 2012). This increase is primarily accounted for by young first consumers, but relatives of drug users have also been increasingly turning to the centre for information and advice. In order to meet the demand, three additional general practitioners have been appointed. Following the expansion of addiction support centres in Lower Austria in recent years, a significantly greater number of clients have received services, and advice with regard to non-substance-related forms of addiction has also been offered more often (Hörhan, personal communication)."