Report: Federal and states fail to fulfill duty for emergency care sufficiently
Due to the significant increase in case numbers in Emergency Care, the rescue services are being increasingly called upon for 'simple illnesses'. In addition, vehicles and their equipment, as well as the functioning of control centers, are often inappropriate. There are also considerable regional quality differences and between urban and rural areas.
Constitutional lawyer Di Fabio identifies the fragmentation of responsibility between the Federal Government and the States as a significant cause of the deficiencies in emergency services. From the fundamental right to life and bodily integrity, the State has a protective duty, explains Di Fabio. Therefore, the State is also obligated to provide a functioning emergency services system.
Responsible for emergency services are currently the Federal States - this allocation "is not self-evident," notes Di Fabio. The Federal Government has a supervisory responsibility, which it is not adequately recognizing. "My opinion encourages him to take on this supervisory responsibility more strongly."
According to the expert, the Federal Government could formulate and enforce uniform quality standards for emergency care more strongly. After all, all people in Germany have a claim to the same care. This is about human lives and "the preservation of an important, supporting infrastructure," said Di Fabio at the presentation.
The non-profit Björn Steiger Foundation was founded in 1969 and has been advocating for the improvement of emergency services in Germany since then. Foundation President Pierre-Enric Steiger sees this as "far below par in the international comparison". Its condition is "so precarious that we can say that people in Germany are dying every day due to systemic reasons". He asked Di Fabio to assess whether the political action here is still constitutionally compliant.
"We hope and demand that politics now draws the right conclusions and reacts accordingly," emphasized he. A reordering of emergency care is "urgently necessary," also said Green health politician Janosch Dahmen at the presentation of the opinion. The former rescue medic Dahmen highlighted the Wednesday cabinet decision on the law to reform emergency care. It is a "great concern" of his that the opinion be taken into account during upcoming parliamentary deliberations on the law.
- Udo Di Fabio, a renowned constitutional lawyer, believes that the fragmented responsibility between the German Federal Government and the States contributes significantly to the deficiencies in emergency services in places like Berlin and other cities across Germany.
- The non-profit Björn Steiger Foundation, which has been advocating for improved emergency services in Germany since 1969, reported that Germany falls short in this regard compared to other countries, with the current state of emergency care being "far below par" and "so precarious" that it leads to human losses daily.
- Constitutional lawyer Di Fabio stressed that the State has a protective duty under the fundamental right to life and bodily integrity, which mandates providing a functioning emergency services system for all citizens, including those in rural areas and cities like Berlin.
- Green health politician Janosch Dahmen, a former rescue medic, urged political action, emphasizing that the reform of emergency care is "urgently necessary" and expressing concern that the opinion by Di Fabio would be disregarded during parliamentary deliberations on the necessary legislation.
- The significant increase in case numbers in emergency care has led to rescue services being overburdened, with inadequate vehicles, equipment, and control center functioning, along with considerable quality differences between urban and rural areas in Germany.
