[Catastrophy management in the large clinic. Bridges between fundamental research and rescue practice]

In consequence of a fire that had broken out in the large general hospital centre of the University of Aachen, a working team was organised to systematise the experiences gained and to work out an internal scheme for handling catastrophic events. It was the declared aim of the working group to study and come to grips with innovative concepts of self-organisation in social systems and with cognitive trouble-shooting research to assess the relevance of actions based on these factors, the purpose being to complement and widen the range of conventional concepts of managing catastrophic events and the relevant security measures. This study discovered general agreement between the reflected experiences as seen from the viewpoint of the working team on the one hand, and the theoretical considerations of cognitive trouble-shooting research and the concepts of self-organisation in complex systems on the other. The innovative potential of knowledge for the internal management of catastrophic events derived in this manner from actions can hardly be over-estimated.