Still Many Complaints at the Ombudsman Office Last Year

The Ombudswoman nominated by the FPÖ, Elisabeth Schwetz, attributed this not only to the increased need for information and support due to the crisis years. Personnel and financial bottlenecks in health, care, justice, and the police are also increasingly affecting the quality of services.

Schwetz reported at the press conference about a police station in Vienna, where there is a shortage of staff by one third. "This can naturally lead to an overload of the employees."

Situation in Correctional Facilities "Catastrophic"

According to Ombudswoman Gabriela Schwarz (ÖVP), the situation is also "catastrophic" in prisons, especially for juvenile inmates. There are too few prison officers, as well as too little medical, psychological, and other specialized staff. In addition, there is overcrowding in almost every correctional facility. This condition leads to staff overload with increased long-term sick leave, poor care, hinders resocialization, and even results in rising suicide rates. Schwarz therefore appealed to the Minister of Justice to improve working conditions and salaries in detention facilities to make the work there more attractive. Furthermore, electronic monitored house arrest should be quickly extended to 18 to 24 months to relieve the burden.

In institutions such as prisons, psychiatric facilities, nursing homes, or youth residential communities, where people's freedom is restricted and which are therefore preventively monitored for human rights compliance by commissions on behalf of the Ombudsman, there was criticism of staffing levels in 11 percent of the inspections in 2024. "As a rule, there is so little staff that it is problematic for the care of the residents," said Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz (SPÖ). Overall, the commissions criticized the human rights situation in the examined institutions in two-thirds of their 458 inspections. According to Achitz, this can range from serious grievances such as malnourished, bedridden, or unjustifiably sedated residents to cases where there was no seasonally appropriate decoration in the facility.

Most Grievances Are Remedied

In total, 12,100 review procedures were completed last year, with the Ombudsman finding a grievance in the administration in about one-fifth of the cases. Most of the review procedures initiated in 2024 (27 percent) fell into the area of internal security (including asylum, complaints about the police), followed by the social and health sector, as well as justice and data protection authority, each with about one-fifth. According to Schwetz, in most cases, the grievances could be resolved after complaints.

Examples mentioned include the case of a student whose master's thesis reviewer retired unnoticed, causing the man to complete his studies eight months later. In another case, a visually impaired woman working at the State Police Directorate of Styria had to wait nine months for magnification software. There are also many cases in the area of building law or spatial planning. It often takes a long time to resolve a grievance, criticized Schwarz, who also expects authorities to apologize to those affected in the event of errors.

Gaps in Care for Severe Anorexia

Achitz also saw a need for action in the field of expert assessment. Especially those affected by post-viral diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) report that "they are treated like someone trying to cheat the system." He also sees gaps in care for anorexia. A woman with severe underweight turned to the Ombudsman because she was not admitted to any existing facility with the argument that her body mass index was too low. "This is very paradoxical, as special facilities are needed."

In child and youth welfare, Achitz believes there is a lack of a contact point so that professional groups required to report suspected child endangerment to child and youth welfare can properly assess risks. "Then it would be clear to all parties involved what they need to report, to whom, and how." He also advocates that authorities must confirm that the report has been received and that steps are being taken.

(APA/Red)

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