Fee Schedule for the Emergency Services of the Oberberg District

Fee Statute for the Rescue Service of the Oberbergischer Kreis

Pursuant to § 5 of the District Code for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (KrO NRW) of 14.07.1994 (GV NW p. 646), last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 10 July 2025 (GV. NRW. p. 618), §§ 1, 2, 4 and 6 of the Municipal Charges Act for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (KAG NRW) of 21.10.1969 (GV NW p. 712), last amended by Article 1 of the Act of 5.3.2024 (GV. NRW. p. 155), and §§ 2, 14 and 15 of the Act on the Rescue Service as well as Emergency Rescue and Patient Transport by Undertakings (RettG NRW) of 24.11.1992 (GV. NRW p. 458), last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 17 December 2015 (GV. NRW. p. 886), the District Council of the Oberbergischer Kreis, in its meeting on 28.05.2026, resolved the following statutes:

§ 1

Provider of the Rescue Service

1. Under the Act on the Rescue Service as well as Emergency Rescue and Patient Transport by Undertakings (RettG NRW) of 24.11.1992, the Oberbergischer Kreis is the responsible authority for the rescue service. The Oberbergischer Kreis is obliged to ensure the population is provided with demand-oriented, area-wide emergency rescue services, including emergency medical care within the rescue service, and patient transport.

2. Persons who have an accident or fall ill within the Oberbergischer Kreis are entitled to make use of the rescue service within the scope of the available rescue transport and patient transport vehicles.

§ 2

Principles

1. The task of emergency rescue is to carry out life-saving measures on emergency patients at the scene of the emergency, to render them fit for transport and, while maintaining their fitness for transport and avoiding further harm, to convey them by emergency physician vehicle, ambulance or aircraft to a hospital suitable for further treatment. This also includes the transport of emergency patients who have received initial care to diagnostic and suitable treatment facilities. Emergency patients are persons who, as a result of injury, illness or other circumstances, are either in mortal danger or in respect of whom serious harm to health is to be feared unless they receive immediate medical assistance.

2. The task of patient transport is to provide professional assistance to sick or injured persons or other persons in need of help who are not emergency patients, and to transport them under the care of qualified personnel by ambulance or by aircraft.

3. Emergency patients have priority.

4. The decision on the deployment of ground-based rescue resources is made by the control center for the rescue service, based on the information provided by the requester and its due diligence review thereof.

§ 3

Fees

1. For the use of the emergency medical services of the Oberbergischer Kreis, the district shall levy fees in accordance with this statute.

2. The fees arise
   1. in the deployment of a patient transport vehicle (KTW) or an ambulance (RTW), with the transport;
   2. in the deployment of an emergency physician response vehicle (NEF) and an emergency physician, with the treatment of an emergency patient;
   3. in the case of a misuse of the emergency call resulting in the dispatch of the respective rescue resource. A misuse of the emergency call exists where the person who requests the rescue service for themselves or for a third party knows, or ought to have known, that the situation justifying the deployment of rescue resources does not exist;
   4. in the deployment by the control center, with dispatching by the control center based on the information provided by the requester and its due diligence review, for an RTW, KTW, or NEF.

3. A flat-rate mileage charge, independent of the vehicle type, shall be calculated for each kilometre travelled, starting with the first kilometre of the outbound journey.

4. For (precautionary/prophylactic) escort trips, the Oberbergischer Kreis may charge a fee; in this case, the fee arises upon the dispatch of the vehicle.

§ 4

Fee Debtor

1. The fee debtor is the person who makes use of the emergency medical services or in whose interest the emergency medical service acts.

2. In the event of a misuse of the alarm system, the fee debtor shall be the person who requests the rescue service for themselves or a third party and knows, or ought to have known, that the situation justifying the deployment of rescue resources does not exist.

3. Several persons liable for fees are jointly and severally liable.

§ 5

Fee Basis of Assessment

The fee for the use of a response vehicle or the control center is levied as a flat rate according to the type of deployment as a probability-based standard. In addition, a mileage fee is charged for each kilometre of the distance covered due to the deployment.

§ 6

Fee Rates

The following fee rates apply:

§ 7

Due Date of the Fee

1. The fees are to be paid to the district treasury (Kreiskasse) of the Oberbergischer Kreis within four weeks of notification of the fee assessment notice.

2. Outstanding fees are collected by way of administrative enforcement proceedings.

§ 8

Entry into Force

This statute shall enter into force retroactively as of 01.07.2025. At the same time, the fee statute for the emergency medical services of the Oberbergischer Kreis of 01.07.2025 shall cease to apply.

Publication Order

The above fee statute for the use of the rescue service in the Oberbergischer Kreis is hereby publicly promulgated pursuant to § 5 para. 4 of the Kreisordnung für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (District Code for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia).

It is pointed out that a violation of procedural and formal requirements of the Kreisordnung für das Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (KrO NW) in the enactment of this statute may no longer be asserted after the expiry of six months from this announcement, unless

1. a required permit is missing,

2. this statute has not been duly publicly announced,

3. the District Administrator has previously objected to the statute resolution, or

4. the formal and procedural defect has previously been objected to in writing to the district, specifying the legal provision violated and the fact giving rise to the defect.

Gummersbach, 28.05.2026

sgd.

Klaus Grootens

- District Administrator -