Workplace safety: Disaster preparation

A disaster is a sudden tragic event that could result in huge losses in terms of property damage, injuries, and deaths. Disasters can be categorized as either natural, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods, or man-made, such as hazardous chemical spills, terrorist attacks, wars, and plane or train crashes. In both cases, healthcare facilities should always be prepared to provide care to the victims.

Now, a disaster can occur at any time, creating an overwhelming situation for healthcare facilities. This is why each healthcare facility must have a disaster plan in place, and it should be adapted to its internal organization and resources.

For example, a disaster plan of a hospital may focus on admission and treatment of a large number of multiple-injured people, while a disaster plan of a nursing home may focus on ensuring safety and providing care to its clients during a hurricane.

Alright, there are essential elements that should be included in every disaster plan and can be summarised with the acronym D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R.

First, it should include Detection, which involves determining if there is a disaster in the area and the possible causes.

Sometimes, an undetected disaster, like contamination of the water supply, will first be noticed by healthcare workers who recognize an increased number of individuals coming in with similar unexplained symptoms.

After detection, an Incident command system should be established to help coordinate different facilities, personnel, and equipment to respond to the disaster in an orderly fashion.

The next step is about ensuring the Safety and Security of the staff. Staff members need to protect themselves by wearing adequate personal protective equipment, or PPEs, especially during exposure to hazardous chemicals and infectious biological agents.

This prevents increasing the number of victims and the loss of staff who need to provide care to injured people. Another important element in a disaster plan is the Assessment of all the hazards at the scene of a disaster by trained personnel.

For example, there may be downed electric cables after a hurricane or exposure to hazardous substances, radiation, or infectious agents.

The next step is asking for Support when necessary. For example, if there has been a bomb explosion, it may be necessary to call the bomb squad or firefighters.