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<TABLE class=RedTableBorder style="HEIGHT: 483px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px" vAlign=top><TD class=articalTitle align=middle>EMS expert gives tips on handling major disasters
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=430 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=dates id=hDate height=27>Published: Wednesday, 27 February, 2008, 01:30 AM Doha Time</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 12px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px"><TD class=articalBody id=artical1 vAlign=top height=345><TABLE width=10 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=imgcaption id=Comment dir=rtl vAlign=top align=middle>Dr Kari L Scantlebury speaking at the conference yesterday</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Staff Reporter
EMERGENCY Medical Services (EMS) must be designated as part of the field command structure to handle major disasters effectively, Dr Kari L Scantlebury, a specialist actively involved in developing emergency medicine programmes and systems in several countries, particularly among the Gulf states, has said.
The International Emergency Medicine and Disaster Response Fellow from The George Washington University, US, was speaking about principles of disaster management and mass casualty incidents (MCIs) at the ongoing 4th International Trauma and Emergency Medicine Conference yesterday.
The gold command is procedures and strategic incident management, whereas the silver and bronze commands are tactical and operational management, respectively,??* she stated after giving a brief overview of the EMS operations that followed the Madrid (2004) and London (2005) terrorist bombings.
Focusing on the aftermath of bomb attacks, which have come to be the most favoured option of terrorists, Dr Scantlebury suggested there should be clear communication between first responders and receiving facilities, and training of first responders in implementation of Incident Command System (ICS).
EMS should prepare for dispatching 50 ambulances within the first 10 minutes, with 75% arriving at the staging areas within the first hour and all within 90 minutes,??* she said.
Ensuring scene safety is a major concern. “There could be threats including secondary devices waiting to explode, possible structure collapse, and terrorists posing as patients,??* the speaker observed.
Dr Scantlebury said that EMS should focus on triage (a system to sort patients into those who need critical attention and immediate transport to the hospital and those with less serious injuries).
Some injuries, for instance severe internal injuries, could go unrecognised during initial triage, and the large number of people with less serious injuries may delay recognition and treatment of the smaller portion of patients with critical injuries.
EMS should arrange for secondary triage sites for ambulatory patients and on-site treatment and emergency departments should be ready to receive 50 to 80% of acute casualties within 90 minutes of the event,??* she said.
Emergency Departments should get prior notification and accurate information regarding the magnitude of the event, the hospital incident command system activated, building and entrances secured, decontaminated and available beds vacated.
“Given that high volume of patients require radiological studies, especially when it is an explosion, ensure that x-ray machines are used to handle the maximum number,??* Dr Scantlebury stated.
Among the other aspects that the speaker touched upon were the problems faced by the number of operating rooms, a major determinant in a hospital?s capacity.
“Once the operating rooms have been filled, diversion to other facilities needs to be considered for critical patients,??* she said while suggesting temporary damage control surgery, a practice adopted by the US military in battle fields, under which emergency life saving procedures are done first, followed by the proper surgery after 24 to 36 hours.
Dr Scantlebury, who recently graduated from residency in emergency medicine in the US, is currently pursuing a Master?s in Public Health at the George Washington University.
She also works in several emergency rooms as an emergency physician and instructor of emergency medicine residents in several hospitals in the Washington, DC area.
She has been to the Middle East five times in the last six months. On this trip, besides speaking at the conference, she is also teaching a one-week review course for the Arabian Emergency Medicine Board Examination
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...6&parent_id=16
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=430 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=dates id=hDate height=27>Published: Wednesday, 27 February, 2008, 01:30 AM Doha Time</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR style="PADDING-RIGHT: 12px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px"><TD class=articalBody id=artical1 vAlign=top height=345><TABLE width=10 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></TD></TR><TR><TD class=imgcaption id=Comment dir=rtl vAlign=top align=middle>Dr Kari L Scantlebury speaking at the conference yesterday</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Staff Reporter
EMERGENCY Medical Services (EMS) must be designated as part of the field command structure to handle major disasters effectively, Dr Kari L Scantlebury, a specialist actively involved in developing emergency medicine programmes and systems in several countries, particularly among the Gulf states, has said.
The International Emergency Medicine and Disaster Response Fellow from The George Washington University, US, was speaking about principles of disaster management and mass casualty incidents (MCIs) at the ongoing 4th International Trauma and Emergency Medicine Conference yesterday.
The gold command is procedures and strategic incident management, whereas the silver and bronze commands are tactical and operational management, respectively,??* she stated after giving a brief overview of the EMS operations that followed the Madrid (2004) and London (2005) terrorist bombings.
Focusing on the aftermath of bomb attacks, which have come to be the most favoured option of terrorists, Dr Scantlebury suggested there should be clear communication between first responders and receiving facilities, and training of first responders in implementation of Incident Command System (ICS).
EMS should prepare for dispatching 50 ambulances within the first 10 minutes, with 75% arriving at the staging areas within the first hour and all within 90 minutes,??* she said.
Ensuring scene safety is a major concern. “There could be threats including secondary devices waiting to explode, possible structure collapse, and terrorists posing as patients,??* the speaker observed.
Dr Scantlebury said that EMS should focus on triage (a system to sort patients into those who need critical attention and immediate transport to the hospital and those with less serious injuries).
Some injuries, for instance severe internal injuries, could go unrecognised during initial triage, and the large number of people with less serious injuries may delay recognition and treatment of the smaller portion of patients with critical injuries.
EMS should arrange for secondary triage sites for ambulatory patients and on-site treatment and emergency departments should be ready to receive 50 to 80% of acute casualties within 90 minutes of the event,??* she said.
Emergency Departments should get prior notification and accurate information regarding the magnitude of the event, the hospital incident command system activated, building and entrances secured, decontaminated and available beds vacated.
“Given that high volume of patients require radiological studies, especially when it is an explosion, ensure that x-ray machines are used to handle the maximum number,??* Dr Scantlebury stated.
Among the other aspects that the speaker touched upon were the problems faced by the number of operating rooms, a major determinant in a hospital?s capacity.
“Once the operating rooms have been filled, diversion to other facilities needs to be considered for critical patients,??* she said while suggesting temporary damage control surgery, a practice adopted by the US military in battle fields, under which emergency life saving procedures are done first, followed by the proper surgery after 24 to 36 hours.
Dr Scantlebury, who recently graduated from residency in emergency medicine in the US, is currently pursuing a Master?s in Public Health at the George Washington University.
She also works in several emergency rooms as an emergency physician and instructor of emergency medicine residents in several hospitals in the Washington, DC area.
She has been to the Middle East five times in the last six months. On this trip, besides speaking at the conference, she is also teaching a one-week review course for the Arabian Emergency Medicine Board Examination
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topic...6&parent_id=16
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