Emergency Response Delays: Understanding why aid sometimes arrives late - Speedy Response: Delays in Prompt Arrival of Emergencies Examined
In a bid to ensure equal chances of survival for citizens nationwide, the Björn Steiger Foundation, based in Baden-Württemberg, has taken the German government to the Federal Constitutional Court. The foundation's complaint addresses the inconsistency in emergency care across different federal states.
The response times for emergency services vary significantly from state to state. Berlin boasts an impressive eight-minute response time, while Lower Saxony and Brandenburg each have a 15-minute response time. This discrepancy is a cause for concern, as every minute counts in a cardiac arrest or other critical situations.
The effectiveness of the emergency call systems is limited to the respective federal state where the first responder is registered. If a registered first responder is on vacation in a different federal state, they will not be notified of emergencies occurring in that state. This could potentially lead to valuable time loss in emergency situations near state or district borders.
Information exchange between control centers in different regions can often take place by phone, if at all. The use of different software systems by control centers can result in delayed dispatch of the nearest emergency vehicle, further exacerbating response times.
Florian Reifferscheid, an emergency physician in Kiel and the chairman of the Federal Association of Working Groups of Emergency Physicians in Germany (BAND), supports the foundation's stance. He believes that citizens must have equal chances of survival in an emergency, whether they are in urban or rural areas.
The government crisis in November 2024 led to the halt of emergency care reform, which aimed to introduce nationwide uniform standards for response times from emergency calls to ambulance arrival. The Björn Steiger Foundation hopes the new federal government will prioritize the reform of emergency care.
The foundation filed its complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in March of the current year. The complaint argues that citizens should have the same chances of survival in an emergency, regardless of their location within Germany.
Some federal states in Germany have emergency call systems that allow trained laypeople to register as first responders via an app. This initiative could potentially help reduce response times and improve emergency care, but its implementation varies across states.
The Björn Steiger Foundation's legal action underscores the urgent need for a uniform standard in emergency response times across Germany. As the situation stands, the longer it takes for professional help to arrive, the lower the likelihood of avoiding severe neurological damage. The foundation's hope is that the court will rule in favour of equal emergency care for all citizens, regardless of their location.
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