Hospital disaster preparedness in Switzerland

fabrice Dami; Bertrand Yersin; Alexandre H Hirzel; Olivier Hugli

doi:10.4414/smw.2014.14032

Original article

Vol. 144 No. 3940 (2014)

Hospital disaster preparedness in Switzerland

fabrice Dami
Bertrand Yersin
Alexandre H Hirzel
Olivier Hugli

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2014.14032
Cite this as:: Swiss Med Wkly. 2014;144:w14032
Published: 21.09.2014

Summary

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Hospital preparedness is an essential component of any developed health care system. However, there is no national legislation in Switzerland. The objective of this inquiry was to establish the geographic distribution, availability and characteristics of hospital preparedness across Switzerland.

METHODS: A questionnaire regarding hospital preparedness in 2006 was addressed to all heads responsible for emergency departments (ED). The survey was initiated in 2007 and finalised in 2012.

RESULTS: Of the 138 ED, 122 (88%) returned the survey. Eighty nine EDs (82%) had a disaster plan.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified an insufficient rate of hospitals in which emergency physicians reported a disaster plan. The lack of national or cantonal legislation regulating disaster preparedness may be partially responsible for this.

References

Moore S. Policy brief: Delivery system redesign. Brandeis University 2010. Available from: http://www.niatx.net/pdf/ARC/Delivery_System_Redesign.pdf
Domres B, Schauwecker HH, Rohrmann K, Roller G, Maier GW, Manger A. The German approach to emergency/disaster management. Med Arch. 2000;54:201–3.
Wyss K, Lorenz N. Decentralisation and central and regional coordination of health services: the case of Switzerland. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2000;15:103–14.
Osterwalder JJ. Emergency medicine in Switzerland. Ann Emerg Med. 1998;32:243–7.
Federal Office of Public Health. Swiss plan for influenza pandemic. Available at: http://www.bag.admin.ch/influenza/01120/01134/03058/index.html?lang=fr&download=
Federal Office for the Environment. Status Report on Natural Hazards. Available at: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/umwelt/status/03995/index.html?lang=en
Federal Office for the Environment. Status report on major accidents. Available at: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/umwelt/status/04017/index.html?lang=en
Federal Office for Civil protection. The national risk analysis of Disaster and Emergencies in Switzerland. Available at: http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/en/home/themen/gefaehrdungen-risiken/nat__gefaehrdungsanlayse.html
WorldBank.org GDP per capita (current US$) Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries?display=default
Anderson GF, Reinhardt UE, Hussey PS, Petrosyan V. It's the prices, stupid: why the United States is so different from other countries. Health Aff 2003;22:89–105.
De Lorenzo RA. Financing hospital disaster preparedness. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(5):436–9.
Petinaux B. Financial burden of emergency preparedness on an urban, academic hospital. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009;24(5):372–5.
Mahdaviazad H.Assessing hospital disaster preparedness in Shiraz, Iran 2011: teaching versus private hospitals. Am J Dis Med. 2013;8:65–73.
Biddinger PD, Baggish A, Harrington L, d'Hemecourt P, Hooley J, Jones J, et al. Be prepared – the Boston Marathon and mass-casualty events. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:1958–60.
Sanchez B, Hirzel AH, Bingisser R, Ciurea A, Exadaktylos A, Lehman B, et al. State of Emergency Medicine in Switzerland: a national profile of emergency departments in 2006. Int J Emerg Med. 2013;6(1):23.
Groupe de travail de la Communauté d'intérêt des directeurs médicaux des urgences. Centres d'urgence hospitaliers: Recommandations structurelles et organisationnelles en matière d'assurance qualité. Bull Med Suisses. 2005;86:1974–84.
Sullivan AF, Richman IB, Ahn CJ, Auerbarch BS, Pallin DJ, Schafermeyer RW, et al. A profile of US emergency departments in 2001. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;48:694–701.
Schneider SM, Gallery ME, Schafermeyer R, Zwemer FL. Emergency department crowding: a point in time. Ann Emerg Med. 2003;42:167–72.
Schuler M, Dessemontet P, Joye D. Les niveaux géographiques de la Suisse, Office Fédéral de la Statistique; Neuchâtel 2005.
Niska RW, Burt C. Emergency Response Planning in Hospitals, United States: 2003–2004. Adv Data. 2007;391:1–13.
Niska RW, Shimizu IM. Hospital preparedness for Emergency Response: United States, 2008. Natl Health Stat Report. 2011;37:1–14.
Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités – République Française. Plan blanc et gestion de crise. Guide à l'élaboration des plans blancs élargis et des plans blancs des établissements de santé. Paris, 2006.
Auf der Heide E. The importance of evidence-based disaster planning. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:34–49.
Staines A. Trame, guide et standards pour l'élaboration des plans catastrophe des hôpitaux vaudois. Service Santé Publique Canton de Vaud, 2008.
Lynn M, Gurr D, Memon A, Kaliff J. Management of conventional mass casualty incidents: ten commandments for hospital planning. J Burn Case Res. 2006;27:649–58.
ED management 2013;25(7):78–80
Shih FY, Koenig KL. Improving surge capacity for biothreats: experience from Taiwan. Acad Emerg Med. 2006;13:1114–7.
Zilm F, Berry R, Pietrzak MP, Paratore A. Integrating disaster preparedness and surge capacity in emergency facility planning. J Ambul Care Manage. 2008;31:377–85.
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Health Care System Surge Capacity Recognition, Preparedness, and Response. Ann Emerg Med. 2012;59:240–1.
Walls RM, Zinner MJ. The Boston Marathon response: why did it work so well? JAMA. 2013;309(23):2441–2.
Conn A. Marathon day at Massachusetts General. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159(2):143–4.
Fischer P, Wafaisade A, Neugebauer EAM, Kees T, Bail H, Weber O, et al. Wie gut sind Aerzte auf einen Massenanfall von Verletzten vorbereitet? [Preparedness of hospital physicians for a mass casualty incident. A German survey amongst 7,700 physicians]. Unfallchirurg. 2013;116:34–8.

How to Cite

1.

Dami fabrice, Yersin B, Hirzel A, Hugli O. Hospital disaster preparedness in Switzerland. Swiss Med Wkly [Internet]. 2014 Sep. 21 [cited 2024 Nov. 24];144(3940):w14032. Available from: https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/1912

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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[1] Moore S. Policy brief: Delivery system redesign. Brandeis University 2010. Available from: http://www.niatx.net/pdf/ARC/Delivery_System_Redesign.pdf

[2] Domres B, Schauwecker HH, Rohrmann K, Roller G, Maier GW, Manger A. The German approach to emergency/disaster management. Med Arch. 2000;54:201–3.

[3] Wyss K, Lorenz N. Decentralisation and central and regional coordination of health services: the case of Switzerland. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2000;15:103–14.

[4] Osterwalder JJ. Emergency medicine in Switzerland. Ann Emerg Med. 1998;32:243–7.

[5] Federal Office of Public Health. Swiss plan for influenza pandemic. Available at: http://www.bag.admin.ch/influenza/01120/01134/03058/index.html?lang=fr&download=

[6] Federal Office for the Environment. Status Report on Natural Hazards. Available at: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/umwelt/status/03995/index.html?lang=en

[7] Federal Office for the Environment. Status report on major accidents. Available at: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/umwelt/status/04017/index.html?lang=en

[8] Federal Office for Civil protection. The national risk analysis of Disaster and Emergencies in Switzerland. Available at: http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/en/home/themen/gefaehrdungen-risiken/nat__gefaehrdungsanlayse.html

[9] WorldBank.org GDP per capita (current US$) Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD/countries?display=default

[10] Anderson GF, Reinhardt UE, Hussey PS, Petrosyan V. It's the prices, stupid: why the United States is so different from other countries. Health Aff 2003;22:89–105.

[11] De Lorenzo RA. Financing hospital disaster preparedness. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(5):436–9.

[12] Petinaux B. Financial burden of emergency preparedness on an urban, academic hospital. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009;24(5):372–5.

[13] Mahdaviazad H.Assessing hospital disaster preparedness in Shiraz, Iran 2011: teaching versus private hospitals. Am J Dis Med. 2013;8:65–73.

[14] Biddinger PD, Baggish A, Harrington L, d'Hemecourt P, Hooley J, Jones J, et al. Be prepared – the Boston Marathon and mass-casualty events. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:1958–60.

[15] Sanchez B, Hirzel AH, Bingisser R, Ciurea A, Exadaktylos A, Lehman B, et al. State of Emergency Medicine in Switzerland: a national profile of emergency departments in 2006. Int J Emerg Med. 2013;6(1):23.

[16] Groupe de travail de la Communauté d'intérêt des directeurs médicaux des urgences. Centres d'urgence hospitaliers: Recommandations structurelles et organisationnelles en matière d'assurance qualité. Bull Med Suisses. 2005;86:1974–84.

[17] Sullivan AF, Richman IB, Ahn CJ, Auerbarch BS, Pallin DJ, Schafermeyer RW, et al. A profile of US emergency departments in 2001. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;48:694–701.

[18] Schneider SM, Gallery ME, Schafermeyer R, Zwemer FL. Emergency department crowding: a point in time. Ann Emerg Med. 2003;42:167–72.

[19] Schuler M, Dessemontet P, Joye D. Les niveaux géographiques de la Suisse, Office Fédéral de la Statistique; Neuchâtel 2005.

[20] Niska RW, Burt C. Emergency Response Planning in Hospitals, United States: 2003–2004. Adv Data. 2007;391:1–13.

[21] Niska RW, Shimizu IM. Hospital preparedness for Emergency Response: United States, 2008. Natl Health Stat Report. 2011;37:1–14.

[22] Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités – République Française. Plan blanc et gestion de crise. Guide à l'élaboration des plans blancs élargis et des plans blancs des établissements de santé. Paris, 2006.

[23] Auf der Heide E. The importance of evidence-based disaster planning. Ann Emerg Med. 2006;47:34–49.

[24] Staines A. Trame, guide et standards pour l'élaboration des plans catastrophe des hôpitaux vaudois. Service Santé Publique Canton de Vaud, 2008.

[25] Lynn M, Gurr D, Memon A, Kaliff J. Management of conventional mass casualty incidents: ten commandments for hospital planning. J Burn Case Res. 2006;27:649–58.

[26] ED management 2013;25(7):78–80

[27] Shih FY, Koenig KL. Improving surge capacity for biothreats: experience from Taiwan. Acad Emerg Med. 2006;13:1114–7.

[28] Zilm F, Berry R, Pietrzak MP, Paratore A. Integrating disaster preparedness and surge capacity in emergency facility planning. J Ambul Care Manage. 2008;31:377–85.

[29] American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Health Care System Surge Capacity Recognition, Preparedness, and Response. Ann Emerg Med. 2012;59:240–1.

[30] Walls RM, Zinner MJ. The Boston Marathon response: why did it work so well? JAMA. 2013;309(23):2441–2.

[31] Conn A. Marathon day at Massachusetts General. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159(2):143–4.

[32] Fischer P, Wafaisade A, Neugebauer EAM, Kees T, Bail H, Weber O, et al. Wie gut sind Aerzte auf einen Massenanfall von Verletzten vorbereitet? [Preparedness of hospital physicians for a mass casualty incident. A German survey amongst 7,700 physicians]. Unfallchirurg. 2013;116:34–8.