Meeting the challenge, medically
Hospitals are the first to get crowded when a disaster strikes, more so during terror attacks.
Besides having a strong emergency protocol to deal with mass casualties that may keep mounting, health care institutions also need to arm themselves against terrorists striking them too, like the 26/11 attacks on GT and Cama Hospital in Mumbai during or at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore last June.
A majority of hospitals claim they have an emergency protocol in place and act with speed when dealing with mass casualties. For instance, Manipal Hospital on Old Airport road responded fast during the Carlton Towers fire. Even earlier, it had handled the emergency that arose after an Air India plane crashed near the old airport in 1990.
“During the Carlton Towers incident, we received 70 people in 30-45 minutes,” recalls Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, medical director, Manipal Hospital. The hospital had an internal system that alerted all the staff and concerned doctors. Medical supplies were also kept ready with the pharmacy being told to be ready for dispense them. “We try to keep our ICU beds free.
We also postpone non-emergency surgeries, which would leave the operation theatres also free for any emergency operations,” he explains.
The emergency protocol is active even in government hospitals. Besides keeping its 24/7 outpatient department, the KC General Hospital has six doctors and 30 nurses staying in the quarters on the premises. A disaster management ward has also come up with 10 beds in a new building. The hospital’s emergency services were put on test during the food poisoning tragedy at Beggar’s Colony.
