Problems exposed – winter sports accidents: the rescue chain has these flaws

Reinhard Klier, Chairman of the Cable Car Specialist Group of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Alois Schranz from the Medalp Sportclinic. They asked representatives of the cable car industry, rescue and emergency services organizations and doctors in inpatient and general practices: “Are we already at the pinnacle of quality in the rescue chain?” limited size!”

“The elevator is called Doppelmayr”
Bernd Noggler, head of the Tyrolean control center, and control center employee Daniel Wegscheider highlighted the problems that the control center coordinators face in case of accidents in ski areas. “Sometimes those who have had an accident don’t even know which ski area they are currently in,” said Noggler and Wegscheider. When asked what the elevator is called, the answer is often “Doppelmayr” or “Leitner”.

Noggler is also not completely satisfied with the communication with some ski areas. In the event of an emergency, some cannot be reached via digital radio, but only by telephone. “Our calls often end up at the cash register and are forwarded unanswered to the mountain station, for example. It takes a long time before someone answers the phone,” Noggler describes the problem. Important time passes. “The ski areas should make improvements here; appropriate investments would make life much easier for everyone,” demands the control center boss.

When it comes to training, the quality is top notch
Markus Isser, head of medical training at the Tyrolean Mountain Rescue Service, sees our tourist country at the pinnacle of quality in terms of training. A slope rescuer in Switzerland must follow a 14-day course. In Austria, a 16-hour first aid course is sufficient to get started as a snow rescuer.

Huge demand for backlogs
Keyword “first aid”: There is a huge need to catch up here. Many Tyroleans lack knowledge of, for example, resuscitation. No wonder: for most people, their last first aid course was a long time ago – often many decades ago.

Lay rescuers are extremely important
“Lay rescuers save lives,” agreed emergency physician Christian Schmittinger, medical coordinator of the Swiss Air Rescue Rega in the Engadine and mountain rescuer in Leutasch. He called for expanding the network of first responders to medical emergencies. At the same time, it is necessary to equip them with defibrillators.

Host Alois Schranz praised the work of the local doctors: “Without them, the clinics would be overloaded immediately after the start of the season.”

One thing in advance: we in Tyrol can be very happy with our rescue system – even that outside the settlement area. Anyone who breaks a leg on the slopes receives top care.

Nevertheless, the shortcomings highlighted during the discussion evening raise some questions and provide food for thought. It seems almost antediluvian that communication between the control center and some ski areas still has to be done by telephone. The few euros for technical equipment cannot just be there, they must be there. Digital radio instead of landline calls at the base station, we live in 2024!

The dramatic lack of knowledge about first aid measures among the population is truly food for thought. In the case of a broken “Haxn” this shortcoming has a relatively small impact. However, if resuscitation is required, the patient is at a dramatic disadvantage if there is no knowledgeable lay rescuer on site. The accident victim may survive, but still needs care. Too much time passes before the professional rescuers take the first action.

So: Don’t waste too much time, but register for the first aid course as soon as possible.