Developing a Knowledge Program for Large Scale Prehospital Assistance During Disasters and Big Incidents

Abstract

Introduction:In the Netherlands, we started in 2016 with a new procedure for large scale medical assistance during a crisis. The normal daily assistance in the Netherlands is organized on a regional level, and we have 25 regions. These regions are far too small to handle big incidents, and cooperation is needed on a higher level to generate enough capacity. However, the Aim is that most emergency workers continue to do their own work in standard procedures, we also need more coordination, information management, transition of “stay and play” to “scoop and run” and deploying volunteers and citizens.Aim:We developed the model practice-based, however, we have little big incidents. We feel the urgency to compare this practice to international knowledge.Methods:The goal is twofold: validation of the starting points of our model, but also further improvement: speeding up the transport and treatment of patients, improvement of capacity, safety of the ambulance staff – especially with terrorist attacks or contamination, civil participation. We held the first survey on scientific literature in English, related to items in our prehospital assistance model. (the article is not yet published).Results:The conclusion was, that scientific articles are rare, however, a lot of information is given about the practical course of incidents. Scientific research to explore these experiences is rare, partly due to a missing universal terminology on disaster medicine.Discussion:We want to contribute to enlarging the scientific knowledge on large scale prehospital assistance. We expect that a lot of practical experience can be unlocked by bringing together experts in this field. We want to present the Dutch model, with a focus and invitation to compare this with the models in other countries, to compare experiences, to deepen them and to stimulate international research. We want to commit ourselves to facilitate this.