Page 167 - HA Convention 2016 [Full Version]

Special Topics HOSPITAL AUTHORITY CONVENTION 2016

T10.3 Disaster Preparedness Training 10:45 Convention Hall C

Communication and Coordination in Multiple Casualty Incident Management — Have We Conquered Them?
Lo CB
Accident and Emergency Department, North District Hospital, Hong Kong

The Multiple Casualty Incident (MCI) management model in Hong Kong is similar to the model used in many countries
including UK, Australia, South Africa and some countries in Europe. The aim of such system is to ensure patients from MCI
can receive timely care when arrive hospitals without overloading the nearest hospital by distributing patients to several
others. Hospital Authority (HA) and Fire Services Department (FSD) has an established mechanism on diverting patients
during MCI since the 90’s. However, time and again decision making on patient distributions still met with difficulties.

Communication is the key. At present information is relayed to decision makers away from scene via voice communication
by the Ambulance Incident Officer (AIO). A single person needing to gather information and speak to a number of persons
one by one by itself seriously hampers the effectiveness of communication, especially when the MCI is still evolving under
the tight time constraint. Often times when a message transmission is completed new information has arrived, making the
already transmitted information outdated. At the same time the AIO has to execute decisions received by further transmitting
messages to his subordinates. In essence there are too many traffic flows through a bottleneck.

In recent years web-based MCI management model has developed. Responders at scene can input patient information
into the web, which can be accessed by hospital staff and decision makers. One to one voice communication can largely
be replaced and the bottleneck problem can be greatly solved. In some countries emergency response centres (ERC) are
established. By projecting scene images on screen and viewed by key decision makers gathered at the ERC allows quick and
effective communication between various disciplines and aid inter-department coordination.

Wednesday, 4 May

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