Internal Disaster Plans
Click here to read about the standard operating guidelines for hospital disaster plan.
Review the elements required for a disaster plan addressing an internal disaster.
Based on your review, create a 2- to 3-page report in a Microsoft Word
document covering the hospital’s (internal) disaster plan for how the
staff reacts and carries out their duties in the event of an internal
disaster.
Your internal disaster plans should include:
- Size and type of your hospital (you decide this)
- Type of internal disaster (fire, explosion, biological etc.)
- Key medical and administrative staff to be contacted
- Central point for communication
- Particular service areas such as intensive care unit (ICU), labor and delivery unit etc.
- Other hospitals in your area and how you intend to coordinate with those facilities (you decide this)
- Implementation on internal transfers (moving patients from one area of the hospital to another)
- Implementation of external transfers
- Evacuation plan
Support your responses with examples.
Cite any sources in APA format.
Submission Details
Name your document SU_HCM4012_W4_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.
Submit your document to the W4 Assignment 2 Dropbox by Tuesday, August 30, 2016.
| Assignment 2 Grading Criteria | Maximum Points |
| Identified and described the elements required for a disaster plan. | 5 |
| Identified and described the size and type of your hospital and the type of internal disaster. | 10 |
| Identified and described the key medical and administrative staff to be contacted and the central point for communication. Described particular service areas such as ICU, labor and delivery unit etc. | 10 |
| Identified other hospitals in your area and described how you intend to coordinate with those facilities. | 10 |
| Described implementation on internal transfers, of external transfers, and evacuation plan. | 10 |
| Used correct spellings, grammar, and professional vocabulary. Cited all sources using APA format. | 5 |
| Total: | 50 |
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Hospital disaster plans are crucial for ensuring that staff can react quickly and appropriately in the event of an emergency. For this assignment, you have been tasked with creating an internal disaster plan for a hospital, which includes key elements such as identifying the type of disaster, key staff to be contacted, and an evacuation plan. This report should be 2-3 pages long and include supporting examples.
Answer:
An internal disaster plan for the fictional Central City Hospital will be developed in this section. The hospital is a 200-bed facility and supports various inpatient and outpatient services. To develop an internal disaster plan, it is critical to consider the following elements:
1. Identify the type of internal disaster:
The hospital should outline the types of internal disasters that are most likely to occur and develop protocols for them. In this hospital’s case, these include fire, explosion, biological hazard or radioactive incidents, and internal flooding.
2. Identify the key medical and administrative staff to be contacted:
The hospital should maintain a list of internal contact persons who are required during a crisis. This includes personnel such as the Medical Director, CEO, Chief of Staff, and other key hospital staff. A reliable central communication point such as the emergency department should be identified.
3. Describe the particular service areas such as ICU, labor and delivery units, among others:
The internal disaster plan should provide a classification of clinical units in the hospital such as laboratory services, radiology units, intensive care unit, labour and delivery unit, among others, along with the amounts of equipment, supplies and personnel that are required for their operation within one day following an emergency. An evaluation of the unit’s safety for staff and patients should be analyzed for each of the identified emergency situations.
4. Identify other hospitals in the area and describe how coordination with them would be done:
For larger internal disaster incidents, coordinating with other hospitals in the surrounding area is essential. In this scenario, Central City Hospital will coordinate efforts with East Hospital, West Hospital, and its primary healthcare providers. This shift facilitates the transfer of patients to neighboring hospitals that may have better resources and can, in turn, help others with the needed personnel and resources. Communications with local agencies for aid if necessary should also come in early.
5. Implementation of Internal Transfers:
An internal patient transfer plan for patients can be created by setting clear goals and guidelines. The hospital was divided into zones, and the clinical evacuation route for evacuating patients safely was mapped out. The clinical evacuation zone included safely moving patients who require special services such as the ICU or neonatal care units.
6. Implementation of External Transfers:
For many natural disasters such as floods or hurricanes or incidents such as chemical spills, external transfers will be needed. In this scenario, helicopters, ambulances and local transportation avenues will be used for external transfers.
7. Develop an evacuation plan:
An evacuation plan for hospital patients should serve to describe the roles and responsibilities of each staff member and create an evacuation route map. The plan must account for ambulatory patients and ensures their safe transfer while accounting for immobile patients during the evacuation process. The floor plans show the evacuation route and clearly marked the exit doors, the gathering point and so forth.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, every hospital that wants to develop a disaster plan should identify the potential risks first. An internal disaster plan must ensure the safety of staff and patients while reducing the disruption of hospital-related services. The above identified hospital elements and how they would be addressed in the event of an internal disaster should be included in the disaster plan. Providing training for employees and scheduling drills to evaluate and improve the strategy and collaboration with network hospitals and local community response teams as necessary.
