Terror Attacks and Private Sector Partnerships

Introduction


When it comes to incidents, an emergency response plan has numerous different parts. One of them entails giving out medical treatment. For instance, a lot of hospitals have emergency response plans in place that are implemented in the event of a terror attack. Medical professionals should be prepared to treat those hurt in a terrorist assault (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). The injuries sustained by patients who are transported to the hospital range widely, including those brought on by radiation, shrapnel, and explosions. A hospital's disaster response plan takes into consideration issues to do with triaging, medical supplies, and coordination of medical personnel in case of such incidences.

Analysis of Mercy Hospital's Emergency Response Plan


In this paper, the author will analyze the emergency response plan put in place by Mercy Hospital, a medical facility located in Dunedin, US. In the paper, the author will analyze the specified disaster procedures for members of staff in the hospital, alternative clinic sites, as well as toxic external atmosphere. Furthermore, the emergency plan will be analyzed in terms of its response to bomb threats, as well as in emergency evacuation.

Hospital Emergency Response Plans for Terror Attacks


Disaster Procedures for Staff Members
Disaster procedures are the steps that are required to be taken by members of the medical personnel in a hospital in response to a terror attack and other emergencies (Boyd, Chambers, French, Shaw, King, & Whitehead, 2014). The terror attack may be targeted at the hospital itself or at another facility outside the institution. In case of the latter, the medical personnel are required to respond in a given way to deal with casualties of the terror attack (Boyd et al., 2014).

In Mercy Hospital


In Mercy Hospital, Dunedin, the emergency response plan requires all members of staff who are off duty to report to their supervisor in case of an emergency (Mercy Hospital, 2017). The same applies to members of staff who could be within the hospital premises, but who are not engaged in any medical emergencies during the time of the crisis. The aim of this requirement is to make sure that the medical superintendent has enough medical personnel to deal with the emergency. Furthermore, all medical personnel in the hospital are required to familiarize themselves with the institution's disaster response plan. The objective is to make sure that no time is wasted during an emergency.

Alternative Clinic Sites and Response to Disaster


In some cases, a hospital may be overwhelmed by the number of persons who are injured during a terrorist attack and who are seeking medical attention from the facility (McHugh, 2010). This is especially so in case of a major terrorist attack. The Mercy Hospital, Dunedin, have a course of action for members of its staff in case of such a scenario. The hospital superintendent is required to liaise with the management of the neighboring hospitals and request them to take in some of the victims (Mercy Hospital, 2017). To this end, the emergency response plan has contacts of superintendents from other hospitals that can be reached in case of an emergency.

Toxic External Atmosphere and Emergency Response Plan


The hospital personnel have to be aware of the fact that some of the injured persons they are attending to have been exposed to toxic atmosphere during the terror attack (Department of Defense, 2010). This is especially so in case of a biological terror attack. In such instances, it is expected that the medical personnel will make efforts to protect themselves and other members of the public from exposure to the toxic atmosphere (U.S. Congress, 2012). To this end, Mercy Hospital, Dunedin, requires the medical practitioners to wear protective gear when dealing with such emergencies. In addition, the patients will be isolated to ensure that they do not expose other people to the threat. All this information is clearly provided in the hospital's emergency response plan.

Bomb Threats and Response to Emergencies


According to the Department of Homeland Security (2008), hospitals may be the target of terror attacks. As such, the hospital management should put in place measures to deal with a wide range of threats to the facility, such as bomb threats. In Mercy Hospital, the emergency response plan requires the members of staff to evacuate all patients and members of the public from the hospital (Mercy Hospital, 2017). Emergency exits are clearly indicated within the building, and the emergency response plan encourages the members of staff to make use of them. Finally, contacts are provided of institutions and persons that should be informed in such cases.

Emergency Evacuation


The Mercy Hospital (2017) requires the members of staff to help in the evacuation of patients and other members of the public from the facility in case of an emergency. Emergency exits are provided for, as well as contacts of police and other agencies.

Conclusion


The government requires all hospitals to put in place an emergency response plan that should be followed by members of staff in case of a terror attack and other emergencies. In this paper, the author analyzed the emergency response plan for Mercy Hospital, Dunedin.

References


Boyd, A., Chambers, N., French, S., Shaw, D., King, R., & Whitehead, A. (2014). Emergency Planning and management in health care: Priority research topics. Health Systems, 3(2), 83-92.


Department of Defense. (2010). Unmanned systems integrated roadmap: FY2011-2036. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/usroadmap2011.pdf


Department of Homeland Security. (2008). National incident management system. Retrieved from hhttp://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_core.pdf


Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2013). National response framework: Second edition. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjnqKTVmNnXAhXHchQKHYM1DaUQFggmMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fema.gov%2Fmedia-library-data%2F20130726-1914-250451246%2Ffinal_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1aYe3Gklg84VpMVAE5ZIi3


McHugh, M. (2010). Hospital nurse staffing and public health emergency preparedness: Implications for policy. Public Health Nursing, 27(5), 442-449.


Mercy Hospital. (2017). Emergency management plan. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjFt7PcntnXAhUJvBQKHRNHD8EQFghfMAk&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercyhospital.org.nz%2FA4A31600-737A-11DF-A687000000000000&usg=AOvVaw14N0w8ESSuI2QzUPpxJhvt


U.S. Congress. (2012). Conference report on H.R. 658, FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2012. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/news/2012/02/faa-uas.html

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