Aim. The aim of this study was to carry out an audit of healthcare plans in New Zealand and Oman. Methods. The study utilizes a deductive content analysis method. Written plans from New Zealand District Health Boards (DHBs) and the Omani secondary and tertiary hospitals were analyzed. A checklist was used to score the plans against twelve elements which are command and control, hazard analysis, surge capability, communication, standard operating procedures (SOPs), life-line backups, public and media, training, welfare, coordination, and recovery. Results. There were 14 plans from New Zealand and 7 plans from Oman analysed. The overall coverage of New Zealand plans was 67.5% compared to 53.3% in Oman. Plans from both countries scored similarly in “command and control,” “hazard analysis,” “surge,” and “communication” elements. Omani plans scored lower than those of New Zealand in “media and the publicv” “training,” “coordination,” and “recovery.” Both countries scored very low in addressing the welfare of responders. Conclusion. This study highlighted the value of health emergency plans in New Zealand as reflected by the high score of DHBs’ coordination. Therefore, a similar approach in Oman will enhance emergency preparedness. Responders’ welfare is an issue that needs to be addressed by emergency preparedness plans in both countries. 1. Introduction Disasters are unique situations that require advanced planning in order to anticipate their effects and develop countermeasures to mitigate hazards, reduce risks, respond to emergencies, and recover from such events [1]. Disasters are situations of chaos and the quicker the situation is brought under control the better the outcome will be [2]. In contrast, failure to institute control due to weak planning leads to protracted chaos and worse outcomes [3]. Effective planning reduces guesswork during a disaster response. The success and failure of a disaster response are determined by the level of planning of the affected community. Disaster planning is a systematic process that has four main components: identifying hazards, mitigating risks, preparing and responding to emergencies, and, finally, recovery and development [3]. All components of the planning process have to be documented and recorded for evaluation and future reference. Documentation of the disaster planning process leads to the formulation of disaster plans. Moore defined disaster plans as follows: “A formal document that (1) assigns roles and responsibilities to individuals and organizations for carrying specific tasks during an emergency; (2)
References
[1]
R. W. Perry and M. K. Lindell, “Preparedness for emergency response: guidelines for the emergency planning process,” Disasters, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 336–350, 2003.
[2]
J. F. Waeckerle, “Disaster planning and response,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 324, no. 12, pp. 815–821, 1991.
[3]
P. M. Ginter, W. J. Duncan, and M. Abdolrasulnia, “Hospital strategic preparedness planning: the new imperative,” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 529–536, 2007.
[4]
S. Moore, A. Mawji, A. Shiell, and T. Noseworthy, “Public health preparedness: a systems-level approach,” Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 282–286, 2007.
[5]
National Health Emergency Plan, Wellington Ministry of Health, 2008.
[6]
“Hospital Emergency Response Checklist,” World Health Organization, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2011.
[7]
Association for Professionals in Infection Control Epidemiology, Mass Casualty Disaster Plan Checklist: A Template for Healthcare Facilities, Association for Professionals in Infection Control Epidemiology, Center for the Study of Bioterrorism Emerging Infection, Washington, DC, USA, 2001.
[8]
“Revisions to emergency management standards approved for long term care,” Joint Commission Perspectives, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 5–6, 2002.
[9]
S. Mounier-Jack and R. J. Coker, “How prepared is Europe for pandemic influenza? Analysis of national plans,” The Lancet, vol. 367, no. 9520, pp. 1405–1411, 2006.
[10]
K. J. Henning, “Overview of syndromic surveillance. What is syndromic surveillance,” Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 53, pp. 11–26, 2004.
[11]
D. A. Alexander and S. Klein, “First responders after disasters: a review of stress reactions, at-risk, vulnerability, and resilience factors,” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 87–94, 2009.
[12]
Health and Safety Employement Act, 1992, http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/law/hse.shtml.
[13]
W. B. Rudman, J. F. Metzl, and R. A. Clarke, Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared: Report of an Independent Task Force, Council on Foreign Relations Press, New York, NY, USA, 2003.
[14]
D. Hogan and J. Burstein, Disaster Medicine, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa, USA, 2007.
[15]
L. Kirschenbaum, A. Keene, P. O'Neill, R. Westfal, and M. E. Astiz, “The experience at St. Vincent's Hospital, Manhattan, on September 11, 2001: preparedness, response, and lessons learned,” Critical Care Medicine, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. S48–S52, 2005.
[16]
“Safe Hospitals Project World Health Organization,” 2011, http://www.safehospitals.info.
[17]
R. D. Zane, P. Biddinger, L. Ide et al., “Use of “shuttered” hospitals to expand surge capacity,” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 121–127, 2008.
[18]
J. R. Stevenson, H. Kachali, Z. Whitman, E. Seville, J. Vargo, and T. Wilson, “Preliminary observations of the impacts the 22 February Christchurch earthquake had on organisations and the economy: a report from the field (22 February–22 March 2011),” Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 290–298, 2011.
[19]
S. Al-Shaqsi, “Care or cry: three years from cyclone gonu. What have we learnt?” Oman Medical Journal, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 162–167, 2010.
[20]
M. Y. Alhinai, “Tropical cyclone Gonu: number of patients and pattern of illnesses in the primary health centers in A'Seeb area, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman,” Oman Medical Journal, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 223–228, 2011.
[21]
A. Alwan, Global Assessment of National Health Sector Emergency Preparedness & Response., World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2008.
[22]
T. L. Farrow and A. J. O'Brien, “Discourse analysis of newspaper coverage of the 2001/2002 Canterbury, New Zealand mental health nurses' strike,” International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 187–195, 2005.
[23]
J. Rietveld, “Strike action by senior medical staff in Timaru: how did this come about?” New Zealand Medical Journal, vol. 116, pp. 1170–1171, 2003.
[24]
G. Robinson, K. McCann, P. Freeman, and R. Beasley, “The New Zealand national junior doctors' strike: implications for the provision of acute hospital medical services,” Clinical Medicine, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 272–275, 2008.
[25]
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, “The New Zealand Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS),” New Zealand Fire Service Commission, Wellington, New Zealand, 2006.
[26]
D. L. Ciraulo, E. R. Frykberg, D. V. Feliciano et al., “A survey assessment of the level of preparedness for domestic terrorism and mass casualty incidents among Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma members,” The Journal of Trauma, vol. 56, no. 5, pp. 1033–1039, 2004.
[27]
W. Higgins, C. Wainright III, N. Lu, and R. Carrico, “Assessing hospital preparedness using an instrument based on the Mass Casualty Disaster Plan Checklist: results of a statewide survey,” American Journal of Infection Control, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 327–332, 2004.
[28]
N. C. Mann, E. MacKenzie, and C. Anderson, “Public health preparedness for mass-casualty events: a 2002 state-by-state assessment,” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 245–255, 2004.
[29]
B. Adini, A. Goldberg, D. Laor, R. Cohen, R. Zadok, and Y. Bar-Dayan, “Assessing levels of hospital emergency preparedness,” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 451–457, 2006.
