title: Coordination of Emergency Medical Services for a Major Road Traffic Accident on a Swiss Suburban Highway.
abstract: On 9th April 2008 at 2:14 p.m., on the highway between Lausanne and Vevey in western Switzerland, there was a 72-car pileup including five trucks that caused one death and injured 26 others. The relatively light toll was attributed to reduced vehicular speeds on account of foggy weather, together with the quick actions and effectiveness of the first responders and the excellent collaboration between the various rescue groups (medical rescue services, fire and police departments). For the first time, we used an innovative on-site medical command and control system, based on a binomial team. Two hours after the accident, the last of the injured had been evacuated and first aid on the site had ended. This article describes how the Emergency Medical Services from the State of Vaud, Switzerland, handled the situation and how the binomial team is structured.
authors.affiliation: Fondation Urgences-Santé (Medical Call Center-144), Lausanne, Switzerland. fabrice.dami@chuv.ch.|Division of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland. fabrice.dami@chuv.ch.|Fondation Urgences-Santé (Medical Call Center-144), Rue César-Roux 31, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland. fabrice.dami@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dami
authors.affiliation: Fondation Urgences-Santé (Medical Call Center-144), Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Ambulances Company, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Péclard
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.|State of Vaud Public Health Service, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Potin
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vallotton
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Center, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pierre-Nicolas
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Carron
keywords: Disaster command and control; Emergency medical services; Highway; Traffic injuries
references.citation: Ann Emerg Med. 2006 Jan;47(1):34-49
references.pmid: 16387217