Disaster Preparedness Flashcards
What is a disaster?
An event of a magnitude resulting
in a level of suffering which
overwhelms the local community
response
Major incident definition?
Casualties (number, type, severity) or location require special response measures
Types of major incident?
- Simple or compound
* Simple: roads, bridges, infrastructure intact - Compensated or uncompensated
* Adequate local medical resources to respond
Note: Uncompensated major incident is a disaster
Types of disasters?
- natural
- manmade
Types of natural disasters?
- flood
- earthquake
- drought
- fire
- tornado
Types of manmade disasters?
- RTA
- structural collapse
- civil unrest/conflict
- chemical, biologic, radiologic, nuclear incidents
Phases of disastters?
- pre-disaster
- disaster
- post-disaster
Pre-disaster phase?
Time to focus on:
*Prevention
*Mitigation
*Preparedness
*Early warning
- Adequate planning and simulation are necessary for optimal health system response to disaster
Disaster phase?
Time to respond:
- activate a disaster response plan
Principles of disaster medicine?
- Integrated response
- All-hazard approach
- Incident command
- Triage
- Communications
- The plan
- Review of plans
- Training
Integrated response in disaster response?
- Multidisciplinary approach to:
- Planning during pre-disaster phase
- Response to disaster - Make preparations in conjunction with other responding agencies
All hazard approach in disaster response?
- Plan operations and response to disasters based on health system capability
- Do NOT make plans based on particular hazards
- Aids flexibility of response to each unique disaster situation
Incident comman in disaster response?
- An organized system for incident command must be established for disaster management
- Define command structure and responsibilities beforehand
- Coordinate command structure with all relevant parties
involved in disaster response
Triage in disaster response?
Aim to do the most good for the greatest number of patients with
limited resources
1. Shift from usual goals of care
2. Usual medical management goal is doing the most possible for each patient
3. Not possible in mass casualty
Use of triage in disaster response?
Utilize formalized triage system to identify and stratify patients
with differing needs
* Maximize limited resources
* Ensures best use of resources
Communications in disaster response?
- Failure of communication systems is common during disasters
- Anticipate failure and devise robust system for communication
- Remember need for external communication with other responding agencies, in addition to internal messaging
The plan in disaster response?
*Government, hospital, and EMS plans may exist simultaneously
*Must be living documents
*All parties must have input in order to delineate specific responsibilities and act in unison during disaster response
Review of plans in disaster response?
*Imperative to ensure that plans remain relevant and
able to address current concerns
*Conduct scheduled reviews annually or at other
agreed-upon interval
*Unscheduled reviews after each incident to make
immediate improvements to response
Training in disaster response?
Include exercises to practice decision
making and response
*Large scale disaster simulations
*Small scale table-top simulations
- Vital to have regular training in order to maintain skills necessary for staff to
respond to disasters
Mnemonic for Setting Priorities for response execution?
CSCATTT
*Command and Control
*Safety
*Communication
*Assessment
*Triage
*Treatment
*Transport
Mneumonic for appropriate communications?
METHANE
*My call sign
*Exact location
*Type of incident
*Hazards on scene
*Access (and egress routes)
*Number of casualties
*Emergency services (on scene and needed)
Post disaster phase?
Still Time to act
1. Response – Search, rescue, transport to hospitals
2. Recovery
3. Rehabilitation
4. Reconstruction – For future health system function
- Essential for staff, hospitals, and health systems to allow continuous service to community
