Care service
The care service (BtDi or BtD) is a specialist service , i.e. an area of civil protection and disaster control in Germany that is defined in terms of its tasks, equipment and structures . Its task is to take care of the people affected by a disaster or a major threat. This primarily includes temporary accommodation, food, and psychological and social care. The units of the care service, which are provided by various aid organizations, consist of voluntary helpers. They complete appropriate specialist service training for their work. The basic vehicles of the care service are the care combination and the care truck .
organization
Historical development
The support service has its origins in the civilian population protection was the result of the "First law on measures to protect the civilian population" of 16 October 1957th This law created the air raid rescue service with its various specialist services , among other measures . Its main task was to protect the population in the event of tension and defense, including the defense against dangers and damage in peacetime. In 1968, on the basis of the "Law on the Extension of Disaster Control", the air protection aid service became the disaster control service and thus the air protection care service and the air protection control and social service became the care service as a specialist service for disaster control. Since then, disaster control as protection of the population from dangers and damage in times of peace has been subject exclusively to the legislation of the federal states. As part of this reorganization, a personnel strength of one percent of the population was aimed for for the entire disaster control, with a share of ten percent for the care service. The number of around 60,000 helpers in the care service stipulated for the old federal states was never reached.
In the area of civil defense, i.e. the protection of the population in the event of tension and defense, the care service was considered to be relevant to the defense. As a result, the equipment was primarily provided by the federal government, while the federal states only contributed to a small extent to the financing. However, due to these changes in the assignment of tasks for the care service and the shift of responsibilities for its equipment, as well as the comparatively low number of care missions, the importance of the care service for the responsible authorities decreased more and more in the following years. This was not without consequences for its operational capability. It was not until extensive care operations, such as taking care of the GDR refugees in 1989, during the Oder flood in 1997 or during the flood in 2002, that the care service was improved in most countries. At the same time, federal funding was discontinued in 1993 for the care centers that had existed until then as fixed units as well as the care trains, as these units were classified as no longer required as a priority.
Although since the introduction of the distinction between disaster control and civil protection, the care service has also been defined as a field of responsibility of civil protection in the Civil Protection Act, no structures are defined in this regard. The federal government, which has sole competence in the field of civil protection, therefore supports the disaster control service organized by the federal states financially and materially. At present, this is mainly done by adding appropriate equipment to its units and imparting civil protection-specific knowledge as part of the training of the helpers. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the USA, there have also been considerations in Germany to improve the protection of the population, in particular through greater integration of the previously separate areas of civil protection and civil protection. Corresponding considerations for combining both fields of activity into a uniform civil protection, such as those that have already been partially implemented in the establishment of the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief , have not yet been concluded or implemented through changes in the law. The resulting effects for the care service are therefore not yet foreseeable.
units
For logistical and tactical reasons, the care service is organized in so-called units with a fixed number of helpers with the appropriate equipment. Helpers with appropriate additional training take over the management of these units or their sub-units. Like the other disaster control units, the units of the care service are staffed by volunteers and are provided locally by the following organizations:
- Workers Samaritan Association ,
- German Life Saving Society ,
- German Red Cross ,
- Johanniter Accident Aid ,
- Maltese relief service .
The material and financial resources are provided by the federal government (for the area of civil defense), the states (as the higher disaster control authority), the district administrative authorities (as the lower disaster control authority) and, if necessary, by the organizations themselves Civil Protection Agency. Depending on the equipment, the alarm is triggered on site by radio signal receivers or normal telephone equipment . As a rule, the care service is represented in all federal states per district or urban district with at least one unit in train strength .
To support its activities, the care service works together with the clothing collection services and the mobile services or transport services of the respective organizations, the medical service, the telecommunications service , the THW , wholesale markets, transport companies and state authorities.
- Rapid response group (SEG)
A rapid response group has a strength of six to fifteen helpers. Compared to the regular disaster control units, it has a significantly shorter lead time from the alarm to the arrival at the scene of action, usually 30 minutes for a rapid response group compared to two hours for disaster control units.
In some cases, the catering area is also outsourced as a fast-action group catering . The readiness of the Bavarian Red Cross provides at least one SEG support in almost every Bavarian district, in addition there are further units of the other aid organizations in Bavaria. Basic support tasks can, however, also be taken over by helpers from the more widespread rapid response groups of the medical service.
- Care train
The care train (BtZ) was formerly the standard unit of the care service in accordance with the federal government and is still part of the disaster control of some states. Its exact strength and equipment is now dependent on country-specific regulations. In the federal version, 28 emergency services (including a platoon leader , eight subordinates and 19 helpers) were provided; a total of six cooks were planned. In addition to a platoon as a management unit, the care train consisted of a catering group (12 people), a social care group (six people) and an accommodation group (six people).
In general, a number of 28 to 35 emergency services is currently set for such a train. This is again divided into several sub-units, depending on the country, for example into a platoon and one or more accommodation groups and social care groups, depending on the country. Alternatively, there are also joint units called the Social Care and Accommodation group. In some cases, a catering team or a catering group also belong to the care train. In some places, the sub-units can be individually alarmed and used as rapid action groups.
Facilities especially more than include armored personnel carriers (MTW) used minibuses or vans to transport the care workers and those affected. In addition, support trucks and, in some cases, other equipment trolleys (for example equipment trolleys for care according to state law or equipment trolleys for catering ) are used to transport equipment and the goods required for an operation. Furthermore, a care train is equipped with one or more field cookers (FKH) and sometimes a water transport trailer. The material used includes power generators , tent material for the catering area and for accommodation including adequate tent heating, tables, benches and beds for setting up catering facilities and emergency and makeshift accommodation , equipment for the preparation, storage and transport of food and clothing and hygiene articles for first aid for 30 to 50 people affected.
- Care train
In addition to the above care trains, there was also a concept for a care train (BtLtZ), which had also been withdrawn from the federal government. Each of these trains served to direct population movements. The strength and features were as follows:
- Total thickness: 1/11/20/32
- 1. steering group (1/2/5/ 8 ; eight-seat combination and six Krads occupying)
- 2 to 4 steering group (each - / 3/5/ 8 ; each wagon and six Krads occupying).
The station wagons were equipped with two-way radios, megaphones, lights, telescopes and medical supplies.
- Care center
Furthermore, the federal government previously defined the structure of a care center (BtSt). Tasks were the support of needy people, their care including food, supply of necessities and accommodation as well as the forwarding of refugees. A servicing agent had the total thickness of 1/4 / 13/ 18 , and consisted of:
- Leadership group (1/1 / - / 2 ; occupying a station wagon),
- Catering group with field cooker (- / 1/6/7 ),
- Social care group - / 1/4/5 ,
- Accommodation group - / 1/3/4 .
- Insert unit
The emergency unit , designed as a replacement for the medical and support trains, combines, among other things, the two specialist services, medical and support services, in one unit with appropriate training for the emergency services. However, the concept of the operational unit is not used in all federal states and can vary between countries. An operational unit has tensile strength. The care service is set up in the form of a care group within the operational unit. This is partly divided into teams for the sub-areas of social care, accommodation and meals. The care groups usually have one or two care combos, a care truck and, if necessary, trailers (e.g. field cooker).
In North Rhine-Westphalia , two deployment units may be deployed together under the leadership of a management team to set up and operate a care place for up to 500 people. The concepts developed by the DRK in a leading role are part of decrees and plans for dealing with a mass casualty .
- DRK relief train
As a former major association of civil protection and disaster control in Germany, the DRK relief train also comprised care service sub-units. For each department, he had five care groups, a catering group, an ambulance and care group and a group of kitchen containers at some locations.
Operational practice
tasks
In the context of disaster control, the care service has the task of looking after those people who are in an emergency as a result of a major disaster or a dangerous situation. In contrast to the medical service, the care service only cares for uninjured persons or injured persons after treatment by the rescue and medical service has been completed. His tasks include:
- Catering department
- the production and distribution of hot and cold meals and drinks
- Social Care Department
- the distribution of items for the most urgent personal needs (goods and consumables such as hygiene articles, crockery, cutlery, etc.)
- the issue of clothing
- the registration of persons
- the implementation and accompaniment of passenger transports, for example during evacuations
- looking after people in particular need, such as the elderly, disabled people or parents with small children
- the psychological care of those affected
- Accommodation department
- the establishment and operation of makeshift and emergency accommodation
The departments of social care and accommodation are now often combined in common sub-units. Another important task of the care service is to take care of the other aid workers involved in a disaster response. The catering of visitors at folk festivals, sporting events, etc. is not the responsibility of the care service. Such events are, however, used for exercise and training purposes, since, for example, the preparation and distribution of food for a large number of people and the associated activities and work processes can hardly be practiced under other conditions.
In the event of tension and defense, the units of the care service participate in the protection of the population from possible dangers and damage in accordance with Section 11 of the Civil Protection Act with their helpers and their equipment. All organizations involved in the civil protection service are accordingly named in the Civil Protection Act as "particularly suitable" for participation in civil protection.
Use scenarios and process
The care service comes into play when people are in need due to a disaster, a dangerous situation or similar events and are therefore in need of help, i.e. they cannot cope with the situation on their own and without appropriate help. Typical usage scenarios are, for example
- the evacuation and temporary accommodation of people in the event of a bomb disposal or a release of dangerous substances,
- the care and support of people in extreme weather conditions such as heavy snowfall or extensive traffic jams,
- the accommodation and meals for people who have lost their house or apartment or had to leave it temporarily due to a fire or flood,
- the care of those affected in the event of rail accidents or bus accidents.
The aim of all measures is above all to avert dangers to the life and health of those affected and, as far as possible depending on the situation, to maintain or restore their physical and psychological well-being. For personal, material and organizational reasons, a step-by-step procedure takes place when a care worker is deployed. There are three phases:
- Immediate aid (duration: about 24 to 48 hours)
- Transitional assistance (duration: several days to weeks)
- Reconstruction aid (duration: unlimited in time)
These phases differ in the quality and intensity of the support measures. The division of an assignment into these three phases is not based on specific times or strict formal criteria, rather the transitions are fluid. In general, the need for help of the affected people decreases with increasing duration of the assignment and the ability to lead an independent life increases. As a rule, the number of people in need of help falls significantly in the course of an assignment, as many people are taken in and cared for by relatives or friends after the immediate initial care in the reception phase. For the reasons mentioned, care in the subsequent phases usually only includes a few supporting activities and is increasingly focused on individual help for self-help. In particular, the quality of food and accommodation is significantly higher in the later phases than in the recovery phase immediately following the emergency situation and is increasingly approaching normal living conditions, for example by providing options for self-sufficiency and accommodation for individual families instead of mass accommodation in emergency shelters.
Not every mission goes through all three phases. Most missions are already over after a few hours and thus still during the recovery phase, and only a few missions reach the end phase. It is also possible that an assignment begins with the transition phase. This can be the case if, for example, the occurrence of a damaging event or a dangerous situation is foreseeable and there is therefore sufficient lead time to prepare care at the level of transitional aid, for example by procuring the necessary goods and setting up appropriate temporary accommodation. The emergency services are no longer involved in the final phase, as the care of those affected is provided by the state authorities in this phase.
The supply capacity of the care service units depends on the specific operational situation and the operational phase. While several hundred people can be catered for by a care train, the capacity for passenger transport is limited and significantly lower by the available vehicles. The capacity for makeshift accommodation depends, in turn, on the circumstances of the buildings available as emergency or makeshift accommodation and the need for help of those affected.
literature
- Bavarian Red Cross (Ed.): Textbook for the care service. Hofmann-Verlag GmbH, Hildburghausen 1991, ISBN 3-92-286534-8
- Deutsches Rotes Kreuz eV (Ed.): Service descriptions of the DRK care service. DRK-Service GmbH, Berlin 2011, item no. 826 202
- Hanno Peter (Hrsg.): The care service - basics and practice. 2nd Edition. Stumpf & Kossendey, Edewecht 2001, ISBN 3-93-275036-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d BBK / BZS: Care Service (BtDi) in disaster control. Evidence of strength and equipment of the care train (BtZ). STAN no. 061. Status: May 1984.
- ↑ a b c d e f BBK / BZS: Care Service (BtDi) in disaster control. Evidence of strength and equipment in the care train (BtLtZ). STAN no. 062. As of May 1984.
- ↑ a b c d e BBK / BZS: Care Service (BtDi) in disaster control. Evidence of strength and equipment of the care center (BtSt). STAN no. 063. As of May 1984.
