Document Detail


Mass casualty incident training in a resource-limited environment.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22190046     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: A mass casualty incident (MCI) occurs when a disaster involves a large number of injured people, overwhelming the capacity of local emergency medical services. This article describes the planning and execution of a MCI workshop created for use in Sierra Leone, a low-income country. METHODS: Surgeons OverSeas (SOS), an international non-governmental organization, partnered with the Sierra Leone Office of National Security and Connaught Hospital to develop a 2-day MCI workshop designed to meet needs specific to their resource-limited environment. Pre- and post-course questionnaires were completed. Day 1 consisted of didactic teaching focused on triage principles, resource deployment, communication/operations and tabletop drills. On day 2 a mock MCI with performance assessments by independent observers was staged, followed by post-event debriefing. RESULTS: Pre-course questionnaires identified the following deficits: lack of triage training (29 per cent), and transportation (19 per cent) and communication (17 per cent) shortfalls. Only 11 per cent could define MCI. During the drill, on-scene and hospital triage was accurate in 28 (93 per cent) and 23 (77 per cent) of 30 casualties respectively. Systematic deficiencies identified included: transport issues, no accurate system for tracking victims, and undersized triage areas. Participants identified interagency coordination (63 of 136 responses; 46·3 per cent) and triage (32 of 136; 23·5 per cent) as the most valuable lessons learned. CONCLUSION: Pre-existing MCI programmes based on first-world logistics do not account for challenges encountered when caring for casualties in resource-constrained settings. Logistical training, rather than medical skills or knowledge, was identified as the educational priority. Copyright © 2011 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Authors:
J J Leow; S I Brundage; A L Kushner; T B Kamara; E Hanciles; A Muana; M M Kamara; K S Daoh; T P Kingham
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Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-12-21
Journal Detail:
Title:  The British journal of surgery     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1365-2168     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-12-22     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0372553     Medline TA:  Br J Surg     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Copyright Information:
Copyright © 2011 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Affiliation:
Surgeons OverSeas (SOS) and Departments of Surgery, New York, USA; Department of Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
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