Treatment Centres in Germany

There are several treatment centres in Germany where patients with highly contagious and life-threatening diseases can be properly treated. These centres meet the highest standards in terms of clinical isolation, well-trained personnel and laboratory diagnostics.

Training is offered continuously both in the use of personal protective equipment and in technical measures and skills to prevent infection.

Quality standards are developed to ensure that necessary requirements on technical equipment and trained staff apply in all centres.

Tasks

• The treatment of patients with highly contagious, life-threatening diseases requires great expertise in infectiology and, in particular, intensive care
• The treatment even of individual cases is personnel-intensive and, if continued for longer time periods, leads to staffing bottlenecks in any hospital
• When treating highly contagious, life-threatening diseases, the medical staff are exposed to a particularly high risk of transmission. Training is therefore offered continuously both in the use of the personal protective equipment and in theory and practice of all technical measures and skills that reduce the risk of infection
• Quality standards are developed to ensure that consistent minimum requirements on technical equipment and staff training apply in all centres

Caring for patients with highly contagious and life-threatening diseases makes extremely high demands of the staff. The STAKOB nursing staff from all centres hold therefore regular internal meetings to exchange knowledge and experience.

Competence Centres in Germany

The STAKOB competence centres operate within the German Public Health Service (ÖGD). Their professional expertise can be supplemented by that of the public health officer (Amtsarzt) and a range of different institutions (e.g. representatives of the associated treatment centre, the federal state 'Land' healthcare authorities, agencies responsible for hygiene and ambulance services, German Federal Armed Forces).

Tasks

• Providing advice by telephone and on-site support for health authorities, doctors and hospitals in the centre's area of responsibility
• Obtaining and forwarding up-to-date epidemiological information
• Providing support on diagnosis in consultation with the Diagnostic Centre
• Providing decision-making assistance (also on-site) on the isolation, referral or transfer to the treatment centre of a patient suspected of having a certain disease
• Logistical organization of ambulance services
• Notifying cases to the responsible state (i.e. regional) healthcare authorities and to the Robert Koch Institute according to the German Infection Protection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz "IfSG")
• Press and public relations work

• Coordination of anti-epidemic measures in case of an outbreak of highly contagious and life-threatening disease.

  • Post-exposure prophylaxis
  • Ordering and reviewing disinfection measures and waste disposal
  • Ordering and organizing an autopsy and the funeral of a deceased person
  • Providing assistance in identifying and tracing contact persons
• Accessing and/or calling in further special technical expertise
• Accessing suitable, risk-adapted personal protective equipment (PPE) and providing qualified staff, if it does not seem possible to transfer a patient from an external hospital to the treatment centre

Training Centres in Germany

Several requirements have to be met to ensure both the successful treatment of highly contagious patients and the safety of the medical staff. Preconditions include specialised knowledge of infectiology (e.g. diagnostics and epidemics hygiene management) and of highly contagious and potentially life threatening diseases. Therefore all staff members attend regular training programmes developed by their own STAKOB centres.

In addition, STAKOB centres / training centres also train external staff from different target groups. The first training programme was developed by the Medical Mission Hospital (Missionsärztliche Klinik) in Würzburg. In the meantime further training concepts have been developed.

In addition to Würzburg, corresponding training courses with different focuses are offered in Leipzig, Hamburg and in Berlin (Robert Koch-Institute, AMBIT-Courses).