Evaluation geländegängiger Einsatzmittel im medizinischen Katastrophenschutz

Medical task forces are an important component of medical disaster response and civil protection in Germany. Due to changing climatic conditions and the associated natural disasters, the focus is increasingly shifting to operations where infrastructure has been destroyed and terrain is impassable. Conventional emergency vehicles may not be sufficient for these conditions. All-terrain vehicles could contribute to improving the operational capability of medical task forces. The present study aims to evaluate these vehicles in a structured manner with regard to off-road capability, training and maintenance costs, safety and operational value.

The Bavarian Red Cross disaster response forces of Lower Franconia (emergency services, water rescue forces, mountain rescue forces) were contacted via a web-based survey. In addition to various characteristics concerning the participants, several aspects of operations in impassable terrain and with destroyed infrastructure were queried. For the evaluation, the special emergency vehicles eBike, ATV/quad, off-road vehicle, Unimog and off-road motorbike were selected.

In all, 455 volunteers participated in the survey: 155 (34%) had been working as disaster response forces for more than 20 years; 256 (56%) indicated at least emergency medical technician (or higher) as their medical qualification, and 266 (58%) had advanced commander training. The importance of training and equipment for operations in impassable terrain and destroyed infrastructure was rated a median value of 9 (interquartile range [IQR] 8–10) on the rating scale (0 “very low”, 10 “very high”), available protective equipment was rated 3 (2–5), current training was rated 4 (3–5), and the suitability of available vehicles was rated 4 (2–5). The evaluated all-terrain vehicles differed with respect to the evaluation criteria.

The operations of medical disaster response units in areas with impassable terrain and destroyed critical infrastructure represents a highly relevant issue. The structured integration of modern special vehicles could increase the operational capability of medical task forces.