HEALTH SERVICE FUNCTION IN THE CASE OF MASS ACCIDENTS

Abstract

Mass accident is every occurrence with a larger number of injured or suddenly sickened persons, which cannot be coped with regular resources (Auf der Heide, 1989). In the world, every day at least one mass accident happens, as distinct from the field of action of the Ambulance Station of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, where in the last 40 years 11 mass accidents have happened (Fink, 2003). Success of intervention at the mass accident depends on efficient preparations for such an occurrence. General organisation scheme of health service action in mass accidents divides organisation of health service action into pre-hospital and hospital environment. In the pre-hospital environment, a health service working site is established on the site of the emergency or in close proximity, representing a space where all key elements are set and executed, which are important for successful salvation at the mass accidents (Hodgetts and Mackway-Jones, 2002). The key element of the health service working site at the mass accident might be represented by a single person only or one person performing the function of several key elements in the case of small-scale accidents. In the case of large[1]scale accidents, several people who distribute the work among themselves are needed for a successful function of individual key elements. In such a case, coordination of these elements' functioning and coordination of work of the people within each of the elements are of key significance (Furberg, 2006). In the hospital environment, the hospital emergency plan is activated and organisation and operation of the hospital are adjusted to the scale of the mass accident.