title: Mass casualty incidents - time to engage.
abstract: Mass casualty incident continues to overwhelm medical systems worldwide. Preparedness for an MCI is a crucial requisite for the injured better outcome. The World Society of Emergency Surgery initiated a survey in regard to its senior member's personal and institutional preparedness for MCI. The results here in presented indicate that WSES should engage in a formatted and structured preparedness course for medical institutions and individuals."By all appearances it seems to be just another normal Saturday morning in the emergency department (ED). Patients occupy thirty out of the sixty beds; some awaits discharge, some awaits admission to the hospital. All of a sudden the squeaky voice of the red phone is tearing the air, the hard metal voice on the line is reporting of an explosion in the nearby train station, estimated number of casualties is 80. You ask for their estimated time of arrival, when you hear the first sirens of ambulances parking out of the ED; no answer was needed.
authors: Surgical Oncology, Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery Service, Department of General Surgery, Division of Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, 8 Ha'Aliyah st., Haifa, 35254 Israel.
authors: Offir
authors: 0000-0003-3603-3843
authors: O
authors: Ben-Ishay
authors: Department of Emergency and Trauma Surgery of the University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Mitaritonno
authors: Department of Emergency and Trauma Surgery of the University Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors: Fausto
authors: F
authors: Catena
authors: Department of Surgery, Macerata Hospital, Macerata, Italy.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Sartelli
authors: Department of General and Emergency Surgery, Papa Giovanni XIII Hospital, Bergamo, Italy.
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Ansaloni
authors: Surgical Oncology, Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery Service, Department of General Surgery, Division of Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus, 8 Ha'Aliyah st., Haifa, 35254 Israel.
authors: Yoram
authors: Y
authors: Kluger