Save lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies.
World Health Day 2009 focuses on the safety of health facilities and the readiness of health workers who treat those affected by emergencies. Health centres and staff are critical lifelines for vulnerable people in disasters - treating injuries, preventing illnesses and caring for people’s health needs.
They are cornerstones for primary health care in communities – meeting everyday needs, such as safe childbirth services, immunizations and chronic disease care that must continue in emergencies. Often, already fragile health systems are unable to keep functioning through a disaster, with immediate and future public health consequences.
This year, WHO and international partners are underscoring the importance of investing in health infrastructure that can withstand hazards and serve people in immediate need. They are also urging health facilities to implement systems to respond to internal emergencies, such as fires, and ensure the continuity of care.
via WHO | World Health Day 2009.
Follow the links for more information:
Statement by Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General
When an emergency or disaster occurs, most lives are lost or saved in the immediate aftermath of the event. People count on hospitals and health facilities to respond, swiftly and efficiently, as the lifeline for survival and the backbone of support. The tragedy of a major emergency or disaster is compounded when health facilities fail. When a hospital collapses or its functions are disrupted, lives that depend on emergency care can be lost. Interruptions in routine services can also be deadly. In large emergencies, such as those caused by earthquakes or floods, some countries have lost as much as 50% of their hospital capacity, right at the time when life-saving services were most acutely needed.
Emergencies: global and local impact
Wars, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, disease outbreaks, famine, radiological incidents and chemical spills – all are emergencies that, invariably, impact heavily on public health. Internal emergencies in health facilities – such as fires and loss of power or water – can damage buildings and equipment and affect staff and patients. In conflicts, reasons for hospital breakdowns include staff being forced to leave due to insecurity and the looting of equipment and drugs.In 2008, 321 natural disasters killed 235 816 people – a death toll that was almost four times higher than the average annual total for the seven previous years. This increase was due to just two events. Cyclone Nargis left 138 366 people dead or missing in Myanmar, and a major earthquake in south-western China’s Sichuan province killed 87 476 people, according to the United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). Asia, the worst-affected continent, was home to nine of the world’s top 10 countries for disaster-related deaths. Along with other weather-related events, floods remained one of the most frequent disasters last year, according to UNISDR. Conflicts around the globe have also led to great human suffering and have stretched health care services to the extreme.
How emergencies threaten health facilities and delivery of care
Apart from their effects on people, emergencies can pose huge threats to hospitals, clinics and other health facilities. Structural and infrastructural damage may be devastating exactly at the time when health facilities are most needed. Health workers have been killed in collapsing hospitals. The number of other deaths and injuries is compounded when a hospital is destroyed or can function only partially. Health facilities should be the focus for assistance when disaster strikes but, if they are damaged or put out of action, the sick and injured have nowhere to get help. The 2003 Algerian earthquake rendered 50% of health facilities in the affected region non-functional due to damage. In Pakistan’s most-affected areas during the 2005 earthquake, 49% of health facilities were completely destroyed, from sophisticated hospitals to rural clinics and drug dispensaries. The December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami affected national and local health systems that provided health services for millions of people. In Indonesia’s northern Aceh province 61% of health facilities were damaged.
Why keep health facilities safe?
Safe health facilities in emergencies are a collective responsibility. Hospitals are more than just buildings. They are a vital asset at the heart of a community, the place where often life starts and ends. Due to the central role played by hospitals in our communities, we all share the responsibility of making sure they are resilient in the face of emergencies. Below are three reasons as to why we must make hospitals safe in emergencies.
How to safeguard health facilities
Planning and preparation are needed to protect health facilities and make sure they are able to continue providing health care during and after emergencies. A safe health facility will protect patients, visitors and staff from hazards. It will continue to function and provide essential services when they are most needed. And it will have emergency response plans and a trained workforce to continue the normal provision of health care and cope efficiently with the additional demands resulting from the emergency. Building hospitals safe from disaster or making existing ones safer by retrofitting is surprisingly cost-effective. In many new health facilities, incorporating comprehensive protection from earthquakes and extreme weather events into the design from the beginning will add no more than 4% to the cost
Health institutions and the health workforce should
- Enquire about the safety of your own health facility
- Develop an emergency risk management programme for the health facility
- Promote the safety and security of health workers in emergencies on a personal, institutional and national level. Implement low-cost solutions for isolation of cases of infectious disease and for prevention of disease transmission within the health care facility
- Seek opportunities for training and exercising to update skills and knowledge
- Develop an emergency response plan for your health facility and integrate it into health emergency and community emergency plans
- Test and update national, local and health facility emergency response plans
- Involve all sectors of the health workforce (administration, nurses, doctors, staff association, etc) in the planning phase
- Make the plan known to all and update periodically.
Global efforts to make hospitals safe from disasters
Much has been done to ensure that health facilities can better cope with emergencies and to increase awareness of the vital role that health facilities play in emergencies. “Hospitals Safe from Disasters” is the theme of the 2008–2009 World Disaster Reduction Campaign, which focuses on natural disasters and the damage they can cause to hospitals in particular. The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the World Bank and WHO are jointly involved in this campaign. WHO’s regional and country offices have been instrumental not only in helping to share best practices in health facility preparedness for emergencies but also in implementing such guidance and making hospitals and clinics more resilient and functional.
Making hospitals safe in emergencies: country examples
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