No room in the hospital

Next death: Hiker treated in a meadow

The unconscious hiker was rescued by rope. She received initial treatment and was stabilized for onward transport in a clearing.(Bild: Bergrettung Gmunden)

The case of the Rohrbach woman who died after several hospitals turned her away, which was uncovered by the "Krone", is making waves. Now the next incident: there was no room for a seriously injured hiker from Bavaria who fell on the Traunstein in the Salzkammergut Clinic in Gmunden (Upper Austria) on Wednesday - she succumbed to her serious injuries shortly afterwards.

Mountaineers Gerhard Ohler and Rudolf Habl from Altmünster (Upper Austria) made a terrible discovery when they descended from the Traunstein on Wednesday. As reported, first a trail of blood, then a drinking bottle and finally an abandoned rucksack led them off the path to a hiker who had fallen. The 63-year-old Bavarian woman was lying on a rock 50 to 70 meters below the trail with severe head injuries. By the time they descended to her, she had already been lying there for several hours and was barely breathing.

Rescued by rope
Due to the impassable terrain, she had to be rescued by the alerted mountain rescuers using a rope on a helicopter. "The emergency doctor had already made an effort up on the mountain, but the woman should have been flown to the hospital in Gmunden for the actual initial treatment, i.e. intubation and clearing her airways, before she was flown to Wels," recalls Stefan Oberkalmsteiner, head of the Gmunden mountain rescue team, who was also on the mission himself.

First aid in the clearing
However, the hospital, which was only a few minutes away by plane, refused - the trauma room was full. So the 63-year-old had to be treated in a clearing at the foot of the Traunstein - virtually in the meadow - and taken to the helicopter, as first aider Ohler also reported. She was then taken to the hospital in Wels, where she succumbed to her injuries on Friday morning.

At the time, the team at Gmunden Hospital was tied up with emergency care and the shock room at Vöcklabruck Hospital was also already occupied with an emergency.

Christine Dörfel, Sprecherin der OÖ-Gesundheitsholding

"Never experienced like this before"
Initial treatment in the open air before onward transport is not entirely unusual, but of course not ideal. "Unfortunately, her condition was so bad that I didn't expect her to survive another two days," says the head of the local unit.

Both trauma rooms occupied
Christine Dörfel, spokesperson for OÖ-Gesundheitsholding, said in response to an inquiry from Krone: "At the time, the team at Gmunden Hospital was tied up with emergency care and the shock room at Vöcklabruck Hospital was also occupied with an emergency. In accordance with standard procedure, she was subsequently taken to Wels Hospital, where she received further intensive medical care."