A multi-hospital system for disaster situations*.
From a review of the literature, it can be concluded that it is always advantageous and usually necessary to distribute the casualties of a disaster to several hosp-hospitals rather than allowing 1 hospital, the nearest to the scene, to bear the whole load. The potential of these hospitals would be enhanced if their preparedness and planning included anticipation of their functioning as part of a framework of the entire capacity of the medical services of an entire small country, or a region of a larger one. For the smooth functioning of this framework, central co-ordination and control of the distribution of the load, the movements within it, the strengthening of its various component parts is necessary and services other than medical (transport, communications, etc.) are essential. The establishment of a multihospital system for disaster situations for a whole region is suggested. This would integrate all medical facilities and services of the region, as well as promoting additional services, first horizontally integrated and later vertically, and would have a central governing body with full authority to prepare the system for the calamity and to execute the implementation of the plan when disaster occurs. This body may find it useful to base some of its decision in the planning as well as the implementing stage, on an assumed population of casualties that is characteristic for the region and on implications that may be drawn from the population.
Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
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Eldar