Fit for Euro 2008

Whatever the emergency – from sunstroke to a heart attack - the Vienna health and disaster management system makes sure that the inhabitants of the city are well looked after during Euro 2008 and at all other times as well.

Equipped for the main event

Euro 2008 is an experience for Vienna of a scale that is exceeded only by the Olympic Games and the World Cup. An estimated 600,000 visitors are expected in the host city in June to witness the event with the city’s inhabitants in the stadium, in the public viewing areas or in the countless cafés, taverns and restaurants in the city. With all these crowds, it’s inevitable that one or two people will get injured or suddenly fall ill.

Experts reckon that one in a thousand visitors could require medical treatment at some time. According to Susanne Drapalik, Euro 2008 specialist in the Vienna Hospital Association (KAV), three in 100,000 visitors will require admission to hospital. The most frequent conditions, says Anton Laggner, head of the emergency room at the AKH, Vienna’s largest hospital, are small tears and cuts and broken bones.

But the risk of a heart attack is also likely to increase during Euro 2008, as it did during the World Cup in Germany in 2006. For this reason the AKH is not only reinforcing its staff of anaesthetists, trauma surgeons and trained radiological personnel but will also have a heart specialist on hand. Vienna has the good fortune in this respect of being a leader in cardiology. As befits a city that was once home to Sigmund Freud, the AKH is also well prepared for possible psychiatric disorders and offers a 24-hour psychotherapeutic service for all fans, Austrian and visitors alike, with interpreting services being provided where necessary.

First aid posts for fans

Most of the treatment is likely to be carried out not in one of the 13 hospitals in the Vienna Hospital Association but at a first aid station set up during the tournament in the Stadionbad. There are also 26 mobile first aid posts close to the Fan Zone and elsewhere and 23 mobile first aid units. Every day 70 emergency doctors and almost 900 first aid paramedics will be on hand. On a normal day, by comparison, there are just 18 doctors and 160 paramedics on duty. The personnel will be provided by Wiener Rettung and the four ambulance organisations in Vienna (Rotes Kreuz, Arbeiter Samariterbund Wien, Johanniter Unfall Hilfe and Malteser Hospitaldienst).

These organisations, together with the Austrian Army, the Vienna Hospital Association and the Municipal Department for Crisis Management and Disaster Relief, can react immediately in the event of a disaster. Emergency operations are coordinated by a 35-strong control centre. In the run-up to Euro 2008 simulations were carried out – crowd panic in the underground, for example – so as to identify and fix any weaknesses in the organisation. To facilitate communication with the various European nations, a set of patient translation aids is also provided.

From sign language to sun cream

Some of the paramedics have taken crash courses in the various languages. There were also courses in sign languages offered by the Rotes Kreuz (Red Cross) together with the Austrian Association of the Deaf. The paramedics receive language aid from assistants from other countries as well.

The 300 Viennese pharmacies are also helping to provide medical support. A special night duty roster has been printed for Euro 2008 and is posted in hotels and guest houses. Display windows are decorated with football articles and special Euro 2008 packs including sun cream to ensure that the fans stay healthy while they enjoy the football.