Senior field physician Dr. Daniel Forstner explains which injuries are common on the battlefield and how best to treat them. Although there are no exact figures on injuries in the Ukraine war, publications suggest that up to 40 percent of wounds occur in the head area. Members of the German armed forces must also be prepared for this.
As part of the Bundeswehr’s “Nachgefragt” event, Senior Field Surgeon Dr. Daniel Forstner, head of the Bundeswehr’s Training and Education Center for Operations, will highlight the importance of field medicine at all levels of the armed forces. New technology is available for this purpose in medical training. “In the front area, it is important that the comrades help each other,” Forstner notes. However, self-protection must not be forgotten. If the comrade rushing to help is also wounded, this of course does not represent added value. That’s why the first thing to do is to teach people how to help themselves. Because only when a safe first aid is possible through tactical calming or restraint, this can take place. The fact that self-protection must always have priority, however, cannot hide the fact that medical care after a wounding is highly time-critical. In the first ten minutes, a respiratory injury or severe bleeding requires immediate care. These are the so-called platinum ten minutes. If initial care is not provided within this time frame, the patient will die before more intensive medical care is even possible.
With limited time
However, if the first wound can be treated within the first ten minutes, the golden hour begins. This describes the period of time in which the wounded person should find his or her way to the field hospital and onto the operating table. Once there, at the casualty collection point (CCP), medical personnel take over for the first time.
Especially in combat operations, where several people are often injured at the same time, it is sometimes necessary to prioritize. “If the number of wounded at the assembly point exceeds the number of available treatment options, prioritization, called “triage,” must take place,” Forstner explained.This is a normal process, he said.Triage is a necessity in field medicine. That’s why death and wounding is a subject of training. One is prepared to make decisions that result in the death of a patient or patients. However, intensive medical training in the Bundeswehr is not limited to doctors and field medics. The entire Bundeswehr attaches great importance to good medical training. To this end, a simulator mannequin was purchased about a year ago. The mannequin can simulate a variety of vital functions and drain artificial blood. Accordingly, the soldiers’ training experience is close to reality. “If they don’t perform the procedures correctly, they can also stop breathing and lose the simulated patient.”
Forstner demands, “Every soldier must have the skills to provide first aid.”