Disaster Medical support- organisation, stages, levels and actors
Written by Anam Hussain
To ensure that DMS is effective, the Unified Medical Doctrine is established. Its basic principle is to organise medical help via a staged system and its objective is to provide early first medical and physician aid- in sufficient volume to a maximal number of casualties, as well as to also assure rapid evacuation to hospitals capable of definite treatment.
Stages:
- First stage (I) activities
- Activities are performed within the AOD
- Survivors perform first aid as self and buddy aid during impact phase and isolation sub phase
- Search and rescue teams enter AOD during salvation sub phase
- After finding and extracting casualties they perform- primary triage, first aid (if required and possible), and organised evacuation
- Second stage (II) activities
- Activities are performed by mobile medical teams in FMSs as close as possible to the AOD
- Medical intelligence
- Medical triage
- Treatment and evacuation of all those in need of it
- Life, limb and eyesight saving procedures
- Procedures to control bleeding and shock management
- Third stage (III) activities
- Activities are performed in treatment facilities in the vicinity of the AOD, if necessary with enhancement of mobile medical teams
- An entire scope of specialised medical aid activities is performed to all injured casualties
Structure:
- A- Managing Body
- National level= minister of health
- Regional level= leader of Regional Health inspection
- Local level= expert on DMS. This expert may not have a medical background so they may be directed by the director of a local hospital and also GPs.
- B- Medical Means and capabilities
- Include sanitary teams which are educated and trained to enhance first aid provision.
- Medical formations are mainly established in administration and industrial sites for processing hazardous materials. Sites include, nuclear power plants, chemical plants etc
- Medical formations include:
- a. medical teams: physician team, specialised team, medical technician team, transport team
- b. medical teams with high level of readiness: anti-epidemic teams and squads, specialised teams for enhanced treatment and diagnostics, military medical detachment for emergency response
C- Healthcare establishments
- Outpatient clinics and medical centres for diagnosis and treatment
- Multi-profile/Specialised Hospitals for active, long-term and rehabilitation treatment
- Dispensaries/ rehabilitation:
- Hygiene and anti-epidemic establishment e.g. sanitary-chemical labs, toxicological labs, radiobiological labs, microbiological labs
- Blood banks for blood transfusions
- Ambulance services