Vienna’s School Doctor Shortage: A Growing Crisis for Austria’s Children

On 24 September 2025, Heute.at reported on a worsening crisis in Vienna’s education and health system: the severe shortage of school doctors (Schulärzte). More than 35,000 children in compulsory schools (Pflichtschulen) currently have no regular school doctor assigned.

This shortage leaves thousands of pupils without routine checkups, without consistent monitoring of chronic conditions, and without immediate professional care for medical or psychological problems that arise in daily school life.

The problem is not new, but it has reached a scale that raises fundamental questions about how Austria prioritizes the health of its youngest citizens.

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

• Vienna has 264,000 children and adolescents in schools.
• There are only 141 school doctors serving them.
• At 130 school sites, more than 35,000 children are left without a dedicated doctor.

The duties of school doctors go far beyond occasional checkups. They include:

• Annual health examinations
• Advising teachers and school leadership on health issues
• Providing first aid in emergencies
• Monitoring chronic diseases among students
• Acting as first responders for mental health and psychosocial challenges

Yet with so few doctors in Pflichtschulen, these essential responsibilities often go unmet.

Unequal Distribution: Pflichtschulen vs. Higher-Level Schools

One of the sharpest inequalities is between compulsory schools and higher-level schools (AHS, BMHS).

Because higher-level schools offer better pay and conditions, they are more attractive to doctors. Pflichtschulen, where the most vulnerable children study, suffer most from the shortage.

This means that children who often need the most medical and psychological support are the ones left waiting or abandoned.

The Mental Health Crisis in Schools

The shortage of school doctors coincides with another disturbing trend: a rise in psychological problems among children.

Reports show that:

• More school entrants show early signs of mental irregularities.
• Cases of uncertain sexual identity and other psychosocial issues are increasing.
• Teachers and principals are overwhelmed and rely on doctors or psychologists who are not present often enough.

Yet Vienna still lacks enough school psychologists and school social workers. Even worse, there is no digital documentation system to track children’s health data. Without proper data, early intervention is nearly impossible.

A “Shot in the Knee” for Austria

From my perspective as an Austrian and European citizen, this shortage feels like a “Schuss ins eigene Knie”—a shot in our own knee.

• Preventive care is far cheaper and more effective than crisis care.
• Every child without access to health monitoring risks delayed diagnoses, learning setbacks, and long-term costs to society.
• The EU and Austria spend time and energy on foreign policy gestures—such as the 19th sanctions package against Russia—while local, urgent issues like children’s health are neglected.

🔗 Related: The New EU Sanctions Against Russia – A “Shot in the Knee” for Europe?

Public Safety and Health: A Wider Pattern

The lack of school doctors is not an isolated issue. It fits into a wider pattern of neglected safety and infrastructureacross Austria and Europe.

Recent examples include:

• The Atzgersdorf S-Bahn incident, where a man jumped onto the tracks, forcing a train driver into an emergency stop.
  🔗 Read more about the Vienna S-Bahn incident
• The shocking case of a serial rapist in Vienna, a 53-year-old taxi driver from Egypt who allegedly drugged and raped women.
  🔗 Read more about the Vienna serial rapist case
• The cyberattacks on European airports, claimed by a pro-Russian hacker group, which exposed Europe’s vulnerability to digital sabotage.
  🔗 Read more about cyberattacks on European airports

All of these incidents, different as they are, reveal one truth: Europe’s citizens are left exposed to risks because basic systems—health, safety, security—are underfunded and underprioritized.

What Needs to Change

If Austria is serious about protecting its children and future, several urgent steps are required:

1. Increase staffing of school doctors immediately so that no Pflichtschule is left without medical oversight.
2. Raise salaries and incentives to make Pflichtschulen attractive workplaces.
3. Expand the number of school psychologists and social workers, who are essential partners in managing the mental health crisis.
4. Implement digital health documentation so data can guide policy and intervention.
5. Make preventive care central: health education, nutrition, mental resilience, and physical checkups should be a guaranteed part of schooling.

Europe’s Priorities in Question

As an Austrian citizen, I cannot help but compare:

• Billions are spent debating or enforcing foreign sanctions.
• Endless energy is devoted to blame games about cyberattacks.
• Yet 35,000 children in Vienna lack a school doctor.

This is not just a health crisis—it is a reflection of misplaced priorities. The EU and Austria must remember: the strength of a society is measured not only in its foreign policy, but in how it cares for its youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

Conclusion

The school doctor shortage in Vienna is a wake-up call. It is not simply about filling positions but about protecting the next generation.

Without urgent reforms, Austria risks raising a generation of children who enter adulthood with untreated health problems, unresolved mental health struggles, and a sense that their safety is less important than distant political battles.

If we keep ignoring these warning signs, the shortage of school doctors will not just be a crisis—it will be yet another self-inflicted wound for Europe.