title: Quality orthopaedic care in sudden-onset disasters: suggestions from Médecins Sans Frontières-France.
abstract: A huge change is needed in the conception and implementation of surgical care during sudden-onset disasters (SOD). The inadequate surgical response mounted by the majority of foreign medical teams (FMT) after Haiti's earthquake is a striking example of the need for a structured professional approach. Logistical capacity already exists to provide safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable and ethical patient-centred care with minimum standards. However, knowledge, skills and training in the fields of general, orthopaedic and plastic surgery need further clarification. Surgical activity data and clinical examples from several Médecins Sans Frontières-France (MSF) projects are used here to describe the skill set and experience essential for surgeons working in SOD contexts.
authors.affiliation: Medecins sans Frontières, 8 Rue St Sabin, 75544, Paris Cedex 11, France. pherard@paris.msf.org.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Herard
authors.affiliation: Medecins sans Frontières, 8 Rue St Sabin, 75544, Paris Cedex 11, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Boillot
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005602:France; D006205:Haiti; D006801:Humans; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards
keywords: Quality care; Sudden-onset disasters; Surgical training