Are Emergency Services’ Emergency Operation Centres COVID-19 Ready?

Alan Mclean

doi:10.31646/gbio.97

Abstract

Emergency operation centres (EOC) that provide triage, dispatch, command and control for ambulance, police or fire services are considered critical state infrastructure. They provide access to and control of life saving services and are required to be fully operational 24/7. Even minor disruptions to their operations of only a few minutes can potentially result in sever adverse outcomes or deaths within the community. As the COVID-19 is caused by a novel virus it raises questions regarding the bio security preparedness of these facilities. In the absence of published research related EOC operations during a pandemic this paper looks at the emerging public health evidence and how this can be translated into EOC operations.

Highlights

Emergency operation centres (EOC) that provide triage, dispatch, command and control for ambulance, police or fire services are considered critical state infrastructure [1, 2]
In the absence of published research related EOC operations during a pandemic this paper looks at the emerging public health evidence and how this can be translated to EOC operations
EOC are critical infrastructure and their continued operation is highly dependent on their ability to maintain adequate staffing levels

Summary

Introduction

Emergency operation centres (EOC) that provide triage, dispatch, command and control for ambulance, police or fire services are considered critical state infrastructure [1, 2]. EOC are normally contained within a larger facility sharing much of the same infrastructure including access, staff break areas, toilets, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC). While small numbers of staff absenteeism can normally be managed, the loss of a large part of a shift would present critical issues to the operations of the EOC and be challenging to maintain beyond one or two shifts.

Results

Conclusion