SOS! Basic Course in Hospital Disaster Management at AJ Hospital
Mangaluru: India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides are regular phenomena. India also witnessed a hitherto new natural calamity in the form of Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. Last few decades have witnessed an increased frequency of disasters causing tremendous human casualties, in terms of loss of life and disability in addition to huge economic losses. Although these may not be totally preventable but their impact can be minimized by effective planning.
Equally important are the “peripheral emergencies” like road, rail and air accidents, fire, drowning and stampedes in mass gathering, industrial accidents, explosions and terrorist attacks that have an inherent potential to convert into a mass casualty incident (MCI). The loss of life and disability are compounded by the lack of adequate medical preparedness both qualitatively and quantitatively across the country. Almost on daily basis, there are reports of disasters around the world. So what do we understand? Are they accidents or something else. A disaster is defined as: “…….. a serious disruption of the functioning of the society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.”
How can we reduce the risk? Risk reduction can be done in two ways: A. Preparedness: Preparedness encompasses all those measures taken before a disaster. To learn more about all these factors, A Basic Course on Hospital Disaster Management for Healthcare Professionals, first program to train healthcare professionals in preparedness and mitigation of disaster was inaugurated on 10th March 2018 in collaboration with Society for Emergency Media India (SEMI) and Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organization (CAHO) at A J Hospital & Research Centre, Kuntikana, Mangaluru.
The programme was attended by 50 healthcare professionals from various Institutions in and around Mangaluru. The Programme was inaugurated by Commander S. S. Dasila (Deputy Inspector General), Coast Guard, Karnataka, who said the Institution identifies the need to conduct such programme, to prepare hospitals and staff for receiving mass accidents or casualties from the community during the time of disaster and save the life of patients.
A J Hospital and CAHO will collaborate as knowledge partners for conduction of such programs in Mangaluru, which will be Centre of Quality Promotion (CQP) under CAHO. Dr Amitha Marla, Director Administration, A J Hospital delivered the welcome address, Dr T S Srinath Kumar, Course Director, SEMI gave an overview of the course and Dr Prashanth Marla, Medical Director, A J Hospital addressed the course participants.
As part of the Basic Course- It comprised of NDLS Pre-Test; Disaster Management Terminologies; Hazard and Vulnerability Assessment; Hospital Emergency Operations Plan; Hospital Emergency Incident System; Triage; How to Run a Mock Drill; Lessons learnt from the Pat; and much more. The faculties for the course were: Dr TS Srinath Kumar-Course Director; Dr Shiv Shankar; Dr Ashok; Dr Salfi PK; and C C Vinil Kumar.