Malteser Hospitaldienst Austria
| Malteser Hospitaldienst Austria (MHDA) |
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| founding | 1956 |
| Seat | Vienna , Austria |
| main emphasis | Ambulance service , ambulance services , social work |
| Action space | Austria |
| people | Richard Wittek-Saltzberg (Commandant) |
| Volunteers | around 1,850 (2017) |
| Website | www.malteser.at |
The Malteser Hospitaldienst Austria (MHDA) is an aid organization founded in 1956 by the Grand Priory of Austria of the Order of Malta . The immediate reason for its establishment was the care of the numerous refugees who were admitted to Austria after the Hungarian popular uprising , at that time still under the name of the Malteser Einsatzstaffel .
However, after the end of these activities, the organization was not dissolved, but gradually expanded to the current status of a legally fully recognized disabled aid and rescue organization. The organization was initially called Malteser Hilfsdienst and only later the name it is used today.
In 1958, the Malteser Hospital Service began to participate in the rescue service, initially as part of the Red Cross in Vienna; From 1962, its members also took on regular nursing duties.
organization
In 1967 the establishment of separate areas in the federal states began. Today the MHDA works in the federal states of Vienna, Styria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Upper Austria and Burgenland.
In terms of organization, the MHDA still consists of these six areas, which are managed by a central command at the federal level. Apart from the areas of Vorarlberg, Carinthia and Lower Austria, which are partially covered by the areas of Tyrol, Styria and Vienna, the MHDA is represented in all federal states.
Members
As a fully fledged medical organization in Austria, the MHDA consists of voluntary and honorary members who do not receive any financial compensation for their services.
The organization currently has around 1,850 members who serve others in various areas.
For example, these voluntary and unpaid members worked around 250,000 hours of service in 2016. The services provided free of charge by the volunteer employees would correspond to material costs of 2 million euros and fictitious personnel costs of more than four million euros if the annual work performance of a medium-sized company with around 200 employees were paid.
In fact, the MHDA works largely without public support and, apart from local tasks, finances its activities from donations, street collections and only one third from paid services such as patient transport or first aid courses.
Service operation
The activities of the MHDA can be divided into two main areas that complement each other: on the one hand, the care of sick and / or disabled people (social services), and on the other hand, the classic medical services, such as ambulance or emergency services.
Social services
More than half of the services are provided in nursing, care for the handicapped and on pilgrimages with the sick and handicapped, for example to Lourdes, Rome and Assisi. In free visiting services, excursions and events, more than 30,000 working hours directly benefit disabled, sick, old and lonely people. For pilgrimages and special events, almost 30,000 hours are provided every year.
In the summer of 2008, the International Maltese Summer Camp with 200 disabled participants and 300 volunteers from almost 20 nations took place in the Tyrolean monastery in Stams. After 10 years the camp returned to the country of its founding and celebrated its 25th anniversary here.
Particularly noteworthy is the Maltese whitewater camp, which has been taking place every year since 1999. To enable people with disabilities to experience white water paddling and thus to cross borders, was and is the aim of this project, which the MHDA organized as one of the first organizations in this field.
Medical services
Regular ambulance, ambulance, medical radio and ambulance services make up 25 percent of the services, plus there are large-scale deployments, foreign aid and first aid courses. In Innsbruck, Graz and Vienna the vehicles of the MHDA are an integral part of the ambulance system and, at certain times in Vienna, the MHDA also provides an ambulance and / or ambulance for the general rescue service. In Graz, too, the MHDA regularly provides an ambulance, which is centrally dispatched by the state control center and is therefore involved in the rescue service of the Red Cross in the city.
The medical competence of the members, which is bound by strict legal requirements and is always kept up to date (for example, qualification as state-certified paramedics and emergency paramedics) is an essential prerequisite for being able to competently conduct especially the more complex forms of social services. For example, a pilgrimage to Rome with 400 participants - 100-130 of whom are disabled and / or chronically ill and need to be looked after around the clock - would not be without the large number of highly qualified members who can be used in such a case feasible.
financing
As an overall organization, the MHDA does not receive any regular government subsidies and finances its normal operations on the one hand through the income from its paid medical services and on the other hand through the annual street collection of its members during Advent. For certain individual projects, such as the renovation or construction of the divisional headquarters in Styria, Tyrol and Vienna or the new ambulance and the new radio system in Graz, the hospital service has also received funding from the public sector. In addition, the MHDA is dependent on additional financing in the form of donations in kind and money for individual large companies (for example the Lourdes pilgrimage). Benefit events (concerts, readings, ...) are also organized again and again.
education
The MHDA independently conducts basic training for its own offspring. The one-year training includes medical assistance, care for the disabled and the elderly, first aid, medical aid and equipment knowledge (in accordance with the requirements of the Paramedic Act), history and organization as well as disaster relief service. Theoretical training is supplemented in greater depth by practical work in the company. The training company is specially designed for the time needs of volunteers. There is the option of taking the legally recognized paramedic exam.
membership
If you decide to become a member of the MHDA and complete the training, you are committed to a service appropriate to your circumstances (for students and non-professionals, depending on the area, at least 120 to 180 hours per year) and to regular training and practice that meets the requirements .
If a member can or does not want to fulfill his service obligation, there is the possibility of transferring to the status of a dormant member. Dormant members have no service or training obligation, but the duty to actively, financially or ideally support the purposes and tasks of the MHDA and thus further promote solidarity.
further education
The MHDA organizes ongoing training and courses for its members in various medical fields as well as advanced courses in leadership and organization. In the social and care service, seminars on various topics, such as terminal care, mental hygiene, etc. are held on an ongoing basis. In addition, training and further education is supported in the context of operational exercises.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Malteser Hospitaldienst Austria: organizational structure. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 17, 2016 ; accessed on September 17, 2016 .
- ↑ 50th anniversary of the MHDA ( memento from September 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) from June 16, 2007, accessed on December 12, 2009