title: Disaster preparedness and response: more than major incident initiation.
abstract: To ensure an efficient and effective response to disaster situations, communities must be prepared at all levels. A disaster presents problems that go beyond the scope of major incident preparedness and requires a response that utilizes all of the available resources that a community may posses, as well as assistance from outside the affected community. In order that the optimum response to a disaster situation is forthcoming, planning must take place that ensures the appropriate response across the service spectrum, including voluntary organizations. The lessons that can be learned from non-governmental organizations in developing world contexts must also be acknowledged and incorporated into the planning process.
authors.affiliation: School of Care Sciences, University of Glamorgan, South Wales.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davies
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D006113:United Kingdom