Accidents at work occur in various industries and are unfortunately not uncommon. In Germany, around 875,000 accidents occur in the workplace every year.
To prevent the affected employees from suffering serious injuries, it is particularly important that the rescue chain is set in motion at an early stage and that emergency services are informed of the incident.
The most important facts in brief
✓ A rescue chain includes all steps from accident to medical care and must be well organized in order to function efficiently. Employers must identify risks and take preventive measures.
✓ The rescue chain must be well planned and adapted to the respective working conditions, as well as well communicated within the company.
✓ Access to the accident site must be guaranteed and it is important to analyze every incident in order to minimize risks and continuously improve the rescue chain.
What is a rescue chain?
The rescue chain refers to the exact sequence of events from the time of the accident to the arrival of the emergency services and the medical care of the victim(s). The more organized this process is, the more efficiently an emergency can be dealt with and long-term consequences prevented.
Before drawing up the rescue chain, the employer must identify and analyze all possible risks in their company and take appropriate preventive measures. Caution is particularly important where employees work alone and no one can provide immediate first aid in an emergency.
In accordance with DGUV Regulation 1: Principles of Prevention § 25, employers must introduce suitable measures in the company so that the necessary help can be summoned immediately in an emergency. The risks to employees and whether working alone is permissible at all are determined as part of a risk assessment.
Recognizing the emergency
If an emergency occurs, it is important that it is recognized as quickly as possible and that first aid is provided. If the affected employee works alone, either organizational or technical measures for emergency detection must be established, otherwise the emergency will go unnoticed for too long.
A common technical measure for detecting emergencies is to equip lone workers with a personal emergency signaling device (PNG). This enables the person concerned to quickly alert the company's internal emergency contacts at the touch of a button and thus initiate the next step in the rescue chain. However, this is only possible if the person is still conscious.
Otherwise, an emergency can also be automatically detected by various voluntary alarm functions of a PNG. These include, for example, the fall alarm, which can automatically detect an emergency in the event of a fall, the time alarm, which automatically reports an emergency after a predefined period of time has elapsed, or the rest alarm, which is triggered when there is no movement.
You can find out more about the function of personal emergency signal devices in our article "What is a personal emergency signal system?".
Procedure at the scene of an emergency
As soon as the defined emergency contacts have been informed by the PNG by phone call, text message, email or signal in a base station, they should immediately go to the scene of the emergency and alert the trained first responders. As soon as they arrive at the scene of the accident, the following steps should be followed:
1 In the event of an emergency, action must be taken as quickly as possible. If the emergency contacts arrive before the first responders, they should first check how many people are injured and remove them from the danger zone. This is the first priority, as it not only protects the employee(s) from further danger, but also themselves.
2. if both the person affected and the persons present have left the danger zone, an emergency call must be made immediately.
3. depending on the severity of the accident, first aid should be administered before the emergency services arrive. This requires every person present, as only a few seconds can make the difference between life and death.
4. it is also important to remain calm at all times, because only with a clear head can help be provided quickly and effectively.
If no other personnel are on site or cannot be reached, the alerted emergency contacts should immediately attempt to contact the person concerned by telephone. If the person concerned is still conscious and responds to the call, the most important information must be obtained as quickly as possible.
Attempts should also be made to reassure the person concerned, as they are often still in shock. If the affected employee cannot be reached by telephone after an emergency has been triggered and it is therefore not possible to confirm their well-being, the emergency services should be alerted immediately to ensure that help is provided quickly and the rescue chain is set in motion.
Alerting the emergency services
In an emergency, the relevant rescue coordination center should be notified. As the people present are often in shock in emergency situations, making an emergency call is not so easy. Anyone making an emergency call should be brief, as every second counts in an emergency. Nevertheless, it is important that no important information is omitted so that help can be provided quickly.
The W questions serve as a guide for making an emergency call: Where is the incident? Who is calling? What has happened? How many casualties are there? You should also wait for questions from the control center and answer them precisely. The emergency call 112 can be made throughout Europe and from any mobile phone network.
Ensure access to the emergency site
To ensure that the emergency services can reach the scene of the accident as quickly as possible in an emergency, the exact address with all important information about the scene of the accident should first be transmitted via the emergency call. Additional information is required, especially in the case of complex industrial facilities or hidden entrances. In the next step, those present should clear the way to the scene of the accident completely so that there are no obstacles in the way when the emergency services arrive.
If the building is locked and no one is present, the responsible porter, security service or other persons with access to the building must be alerted to open the building in order to ensure that the rescue chain runs smoothly.
Analysis of the emergency
To prevent a similar accident from happening again in the company, it is important to analyze each incident in detail. This allows underestimated risks to be identified and appropriate preventative measures to be taken. Suggestions for improving the rescue chain should also be considered. For example, the use of PNGs, which automatically make an emergency call when an accident is detected, can make the rescue chain more efficient and save time. Access routes for emergency services can also be optimized.
What obstacles can occur in the rescue chain and how can they be overcome?
Every single link in the rescue chain must function properly for the process to run smoothly in an emergency. As several players are involved in the process, complications can arise at various points in the rescue chain.
Varying emergency locations
If lone workers work at different locations (e.g. in field maintenance), an accident can occur at different locations. This poses particular challenges for alerting the emergency services, as the emergency contacts may be at a different location, possibly even in a different city, than the person in an emergency situation. If they then alert the emergency services via 112 after receiving the emergency report, they would be connected to the control center responsible for their location and not to the control center responsible for the actual emergency location.
In this case, the call would first have to be forwarded to the correct control center, which would waste valuable time. To avoid this, it makes sense to have the direct extension number to the regional rescue control centers of the emergency location and thus of the potential emergency location available.
Access to the building
The question of how the emergency services will gain access to the building in an emergency must also be clarified in the rescue chain. This is particularly important if there are no other employees in the immediate vicinity and the injured person is inside a building or enclosed facility. There are various ways to solve this problem:
-In addition to the emergency services, people such as plant security, the janitor or managing director who have a key and can open the door can also be contacted. However, travel times, vacation times and the availability of contacts must be taken into account.
-Alternatively, a key safe with a code can be used in which the key is stored. In this case, the selected code and the location of the safe must be transmitted to the regional rescue control center in the event of an emergency or stored in advance as information.
-Alternatively, keys and access information can be permanently deposited with some local rescue coordination centers.
No permanently available emergency contacts
Complications can arise in the rescue chain, particularly in the case of activities that are carried out alone at night or on weekend shifts. If a PNG is used for accident detection and alerting, it can forward all important data on the incident to the emergency contacts. However, these contacts are often not available outside of business hours.
A certified control center that is available 24/7 should therefore be used here. This ensures that emergencies can be handled reliably outside of business hours in accordance with the action plan defined by the company.
Lack of first aid knowledge
If there are other employees at the scene of the accident, they can take immediate action, such as removing the affected person from the danger zone and administering first aid while the emergency services are still on their way. Problems often arise here due to a lack of knowledge about first aid measures.
To avoid delays in the rescue chain, it is important that every company has trained first aiders are available are available and on site in every company. According to Section 23 (2) of the Seventh German Social Code (SGB VII), employers are responsible for the training and further training of company first aiders.
Inaccurate localization
Using a PNG can improve the location of the injured person, as most devices perform a GPS location when an emergency call is triggered. However, if the employee is in a room with thick walls or in a building with several floors, the location via GPS signals may be inaccurate.
This problem can be solved by using Bluetooth beacons. These are small transmitters that are installed in buildings. In an emergency, the transmitted ID of the nearest beacon is sent to the emergency contacts via PNG, making it easier to locate them indoors.
Refusal to cooperate
The affected person themselves can also represent an obstacle in the rescue chain, as employees are also responsible for ensuring that their own health and safety at work is protected in accordance with the employer's instructions. The employees' duty to cooperate is enshrined in Section 15 (1) sentence 1 ArbSchG.
By refusing to use a prescribed PNA, for example, employees can delay the start of the rescue chain and thus jeopardize their own safety. Every employee must therefore be aware of their duty to cooperate so as not to circumvent their own responsibility and thus protect themselves.
Why is a functioning rescue chain important in companies?
In an emergency, the rapid arrival of the emergency services is not only important, but essential, as often only a few minutes can make the difference between life and death. The rescue chain is a step-by-step guide that all company employees must be familiar with. It ensures that everyone knows what to do in the event of an accident.
Companies can further develop and improve the rescue chain by taking appropriate measures. This is not only important for the safety and health of employees, but is also required by law. According to DGUV Regulation 1 Principles of Prevention, the employer bears the main responsibility for occupational safety in their company.
Both compliance with legal regulations and the introduction of measures for the health and safety of employees therefore fall within their remit. You can find out more about responsibilities in occupational health and safety in our blog post "Who is responsible for occupational health and safety?".
A functioning rescue chain also has advantages for employees, as it improves their personal sense of safety and allows them to work without worry. To this end, the relevant measures must be communicated to all employees. This is the only way to ensure that the process runs smoothly in an emergency.
Conclusion
The rescue chain includes all the steps that need to be taken in an emergency. In companies, every employee should be familiar with it so that the process is not interrupted and important time is lost as a result. As a rescue chain is only as effective as the people involved, it must be well planned and communicated. It is also important that company first aiders are on site to quickly provide first aid in emergency situations.
A functioning emergency plan is particularly important for companies with a central control center but different locations. With the help of the rescue chain, help arrives at an early stage and injuries are kept to a minimum, a quick recovery is made possible and lives are even saved.
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