I had the opportunity to accompany two paramedics at work for a day. Emergency paramedic and co-deputy head of the Ried im Innkreis rescue station Jakob Simharl (26 years old from Neuhofen), civilian and paramedic Tobias Senzenberger (23 years old from Eberschwang) and the head of the district secretariat Lisa Nagl (29 years old from Mettmach) answered a lot of my questions.
What were your reasons for joining the Red Cross as a paramedic?
Senzenberger: I've been doing community service since the first of July this year. I wanted to do something meaningful that is also personally rewarding. I couldn't imagine anything better.
Simharl: I had a similar opinion when I joined as a civilian servant in 2018. I also train myself to have emergency situations under control.
Nagl: In summer 2020, I did the training via a summer course. I wanted to make sure that I could help if something happened. I didn't just want to stand on the sidelines.
Rescue and Red Cross are the same thing ...?
Is there a difference between rescue and the Red Cross?
Nagl: We are the Red Cross and the rescue service is one of our services.
What happens when 144 calls?
Simharl: When you call, you first go to the control center. The employee collects all the relevant information and then searches for the nearest available rescue vehicle. We then receive a message on the pager and drive off.
We make an initial assessment of the situation on site. It often only becomes clear during the operation whether we can handle it ourselves or whether we need an emergency doctor. However, if it was already clear during the conversation with the control center that an emergency doctor was needed, then he was requested at the same time. However, the caller's description of the situation can also be misleading. In such cases, we may have to call for a doctor. We then take the patient to hospital. After handing the patient over to the doctors, we drive back to the station and prepare the vehicle for the next call-out.
So an emergency doctor is only present if the control center deems it necessary based on the information provided by the caller?
Simharl: Exactly. Then a doctor is taken right away. The NEF (emergency ambulance) is stationed at the office. The doctor is picked up at the hospital.
Is it always a specific doctor?
Simharl: In Ried, the anesthetists do this, and the hospital assigns the duties.
We try to reassure the patients.
When you're dealing with people, certain things are bound to happen. What has already happened?
Senzenberger: We've been scratched, bitten and even beaten. We've had all that. But it's not malice, they don't know any better.
What do you do in such a case?
Simharl: We try to reassure the patients. If that doesn't work, the police come. But it happens very rarely. Most incidents of this kind are due to mental illness.
If the pager does not indicate a mission, what is on the agenda?
Senzenberger: Washing the car, cleaning the office, recording deployment protocols, organizing the duty roster, refilling the ambulance.
Simharl: And try to get volunteers for night and weekend shifts.
Twelve hours in a row ...
Speaking of the roster. What does it look like?
Senzenberger: We have a four-day week with 12-hour shifts. So 48 hours a week.
Simharl: As a matter of principle, we don't have any civilian or professional paramedics at the weekend - we try to cover this with volunteers. In exceptional cases, it can happen that the civilian paramedic also has to help out when, for example, there are festivals such as Woodstock. Festivals such as Woodstock (brass band festival).
What happens when someone decides to do their community service here?
Simharl: He has to undergo the same training as everyone else who works for us: paramedic training. This comprises 100 hours of theory and 160 hours of practical training, during which he rides along as a third party. This is regulated by law. For example, if he joins us on January 1, he first has one month of theory, then one month of practical training. After passing the final exam, he then travels as a paramedic.
Is it the same for volunteers?
Simharl: We offer three courses. Three-week, staggered summer courses, in the fall there are evening courses and in the spring the course takes place every second weekend. Of course, practical training must also be completed here. The final examination concludes the paramedic training.
You are not allowed to drive a rescue vehicle with a B license.
Do you need a special driver's license to drive an ambulance?
Senzenberger: There is a driver training course at the Red Cross. First you have to have completed paramedic training. You have to have 288 hours as a transport driver and then you can take the driver's test. The prerequisite is, of course, that you have a B driver's license.
Does the emergency lane on the highway work in the meantime?
Simharl: It works well on two-lane highways, but not on the three-lane highway. When we drive towards Linz, we sometimes have to drive in serpentine lines on the three-lane highway. When you're driving to an accident, you're a bit worried that a vehicle won't just drive out of the lane and crash into the ambulance.
What are the reactions when an ambulance drives behind a car with flashing blue lights?
Senzenberger: Some people react very violently and brake abruptly. It also happens that people drive into the traffic circle instead of stopping in front of it and letting us pass. Then it would be better if they took the next exit or did a lap. But please don't stop.
Simharl: Some road users slow down in a blind bend. But there are also many who do it well. Then I say thank you too. Some drivers may panic. The best reaction would be to set the right blinker, slow down and look for an alternative route.
Nagl: The emergency doctor or another rescue service is often behind us. So please look behind to see if anything else is coming.
Are there certain requirements for the siren to be switched on?
Simharl: The follow-up horn is used depending on the assessment of the control center dispatcher. We then see "blue light" on the pager display.
Even if the follow horn is switched on, a collision can still occur ...
Simharl: Then our workshop has a reserve vehicle.
Ambulances are equipped in the same way throughout Upper Austria.
The ambulances of the same size are all equipped in the same way?
Nagl: " The basic equipment is the same throughout Upper Austria.
Senzenberger: It is also stipulated where what has to be put away. This is also identical throughout Upper Austria.
Simharl: What I would like to add: We drive all day in a car with the number 0815, which is no longer our car at a major event. Everyone does their job and the first available car is taken to the nearest hospital. It doesn't matter whether it's the car from Braunau or Schärding.
Do you always have to go to the nearest hospital? Or does the patient have a say?
Senzenberger: If the patient absolutely wants to go to another hospital further away, they have to sign a self-payment form. They then have to pay the extra kilometers themselves.
Simharl: I have to say that the nearest hospital doesn't necessarily have to be the most suitable one. If you have a heart attack, for example, you go straight to Wels.
Surely there is a hierarchy in such a large organization?
Simharl: It wouldn't work without that. But we are on an equal footing with each other. There is no "you" at the Red Cross, even the regional office manager is addressed as "Du".
Senzenberger: I have a good example of this: We went to an emergency and had to bring an emergency doctor with us. He arrived and a colleague of mine said to him "Doctor, what's the next step?" He then says "I'm not the doctor, I'm Augustin". Yes, that's right, I'm Markus. We are aware that he is in charge. After all, he has the highest medical training, but nobody lets that hang out.
The rescue service is financed by the municipality/state. However, there are also regular fundraising events. What are these funds used for?
Nagl: The rescue service itself is publicly funded, but we need donations for ancillary areas such as the visiting service, the Red Cross Youth and the hospice with its volunteers. To support us, you can take out memberships, for example. Once a year there is a Red Cross flea market and wreath donations also help us a lot. (Note: the family of a deceased person asks to refrain from donating flowers and to support the Red Cross instead).
After this very informative interview, I also had the opportunity to ask the head of the Innviertel Rescue Control Center, Ms. Manuela Gurtner, a few questions.
Ms. Gurtner, how do you get this job?
Gurtner: I started my paramedic training in 2012. I did the control center training as part of my further training. I've been working in the control center since 2019 and have been the head of the Innviertel rescue control center since April 2023.
It seems to me to be a demanding profession ...
Gurtner: Very demanding. You need a lot of expertise because we are the linchpin here. We have a lot of inquiries, not just about the rescue service. We also receive requests for information about health and social services (on-call assistance, meals on wheels, etc.). We are often the first point of contact.
The 1450 became known during COVID. However, the hotline has been around for some time. It should be called for non-life-threatening health issues. If you dial 1450 now, where do you get off?
Gurtner: If you're talking about telephone calls from Upper Austria, then you primarily come to the control center in Linz. However, if the telephone inquiry cannot be processed within a certain time, the call is forwarded to the rescue coordination center. So it can happen that we also answer the 1450 in a rescue control center. We take the initial information and pass it on to the qualified nursing staff on the 1450 number, who then call the people back and conduct the consultation.
Many thanks for the comprehensive information!
Image rights: all images were taken by Ingrid Müller with the kind permission of the Ried im Innkreis district office of the Red Cross
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