Audit report:

Cost explosion in Vorarlberg rescue services

The Vorarlberg State Court of Audit makes a whole series of recommendations for the rescue services and questions various changes. Such as the switch from two to four helicopters.  

Audits by the State Court of Audit rarely produce a flawless picture without any potential for improvement - this is no different in the case of Vorarlberg's rescue services, whose operations have now been scrutinized for the years 2019 to 2023.

The most striking figure in the report is probably the overall increase in the rescue fund's costs over the past six years, as expenditure rose from six to 13 million euros in 2023. A further increase of 4.3 million to 17.7 million is budgeted for 2024 compared to the previous year.

Additional employees hired
According to the LRH, the increased funding requirement was largely attributable to ground-based ambulance, rescue and emergency transport services, in particular the Red Cross - 98% of the 156,400 missions in 2023 were in this category. This was primarily due to increased personnel expenses as a result of hiring additional employees as well as salary and index adjustments. The rescue fund is financed 60 percent by the state and 40 percent by the municipalities.

Changing a catheter or bandage are services that probably do not always require an expensive ambulance with the appropriate personnel.

Brigitte Eggler-Bargehr, Landesrechnungshof-Präsidentin Vorarlberg

The Court of Audit notes that the Red Cross, for example, has taken measures to maintain the number of volunteer hours. However, the report states that it is not possible to say to what extent these are effective. In addition to a review in this regard, the introduction of a digital booking portal for ambulance transports is welcomed. It should also be checked whether it really has to be traditional ambulance transport every time. On-site treatment and alternative transport service providers would be conceivable for the LRH.

The state has commissioned an analysis to determine the exact reasons for the increase in ambulance transports. However, as the LRH notes, there is still no data available one year later.

Mountain rescue was also examined
The audit body also has some recommendations for the mountain rescue service: for example, two additional emergency helicopters were purchased for winter operations, although there was no well-founded needs assessment that would have justified the purchase. The LRH therefore questions whether the security of supply could actually be improved.

An evaluation with a "sound information basis" is therefore recommended. For the rescue fund itself, the LRH recommends "more intensive coordination with system participants" and a more active role in the area of system management - and a dedicated staff position for this.