Graz emergency team wins international gold in Poland

A team from the Styrian Hospital Association and the Medical University of Graz won the international ranking at the 23rd International Medical Rescue Championships in Olsztyn, Poland, ORF reported.

The team faced demanding emergency scenarios for almost 24 hours, including at night. About 50 Polish rescue teams and 10 international teams took part from September 9 to 11.

Teams from the United Kingdom, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus, Slovakia, Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine also competed. Austria was represented by Anastasia Grumeth, Bernhard Kowalski, Gerhard Andrieu and Marcel Schaffarczyk.

The four-person multidisciplinary team has extensive practical experience in prehospital emergency care, gained by its members at the Graz City branch of the Austrian Red Cross.

Participants had to make complex medical decisions within a short time, coordinate tasks and treat seriously injured or acutely ill patients. An experienced international jury assessed the teams.

The scenarios were designed to closely resemble real emergencies. Challenges included treating a severely burned patient alongside firefighters, caring for a child with a congenital blood-clotting disorder and severe bleeding, responding to a diving accident with water rescuers and treating severe trauma after a traffic accident.

“These competitions are a great opportunity for us to learn together and improve as a team,” team leader Bernhard Kowalski said. The scenarios showed directly what worked under pressure and where procedures could be improved, he said, adding that the exchange with international teams and experts was valuable for daily work and patient care.