The provision of emergency RPA/MPE services following a major disaster in an acute hospital setting.

Abstract

Due to a catastrophic flooding event that occurred in July 2013, up to 40% of Letterkenny General Hospital’s services were taken out of clinical use. This included all of the Diagnostic Radiology Department's services excluding Mammography. The loss of the Radiology Department had a severe impact on the Hospital’s capability to function as an Acute Centre. The role of the Diagnostic Imaging section of the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Galway University Hospitals in the aftermath of the disaster shall be outlined in this talk. The main duties included the provision of radiation protection advice “on the fly” due to the dynamic nature of the reinstatement of services; the generation of new shielding designs as required and the commissioning of replacement CT and X-ray equipment. All duties had to be carried as expeditiously as possible to enable imaging services to resume in a timely manner. As a consequence of this event, it may be an opportune time to reflect on the disaster preparedness of all hospitals and perhaps learn some lessons for the future.