Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Response in Queensland Emergency Services: A Multisite Study

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Mackie, Benjamin R
Weber, Sarah
Mitchell, Marion L
Crilly, Julia
Wilson, Bridget
Handy, Michael
Wullschleger, Martin
Sharpe, Joseph
McCaffery, Kevin
Lister, Paula
Boyd, Matt
Watkins, Nathan
Ranse, Jamie
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2022
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Abstract

A disaster overwhelms the normal operating capacity of a health service. Minimal research exists regarding Australian hospitals' capacity to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) disasters. This article, and the research supporting it, begins to fill that research gap. We conducted a descriptive quantitative study with 5 tertiary hospitals and 1 rural hospital in Queensland, Australia. The study population was the hospitals' clinical leaders for disaster preparedness. The 25-item survey consisted of questions relating to each hospital's current response capacity, physical surge capacity, and human surge capacity in response to a CBRN disaster. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The survey data indicated that over the previous 12 months, each site reached operational capacity on average 66 times and that capacity to respond and create additional emergency, intensive care, or surgical beds varied greatly across the sites. In the previous 12 months, only 2 sites reported undertaking specific hospital-wide training to manage a CBRN disaster, and 3 sites reported having suitable personal protective equipment required for hazardous materials. There was a noted shortfall in all the hospitals' capacity to respond to a radiological disaster in particular. Queensland hospitals are crucial to CBRN disaster response, and they have areas for improvement in their response and capacity to surge when compared with international preparedness benchmarks. CBRN-focused education and training must be prioritized using evidence-based training approaches to better prepare hospitals to respond following a disaster event.

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Health Security

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20

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3

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Emergency medicine

Health services and systems

Public health

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

Emergency medicine

Mass casualty care

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Mackie, BR; Weber, S; Mitchell, ML; Crilly, J; Wilson, B; Handy, M; Wullschleger, M; Sharpe, J; McCaffery, K; Lister, P; Boyd, M; Watkins, N; Ranse, J, Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Response in Queensland Emergency Services: A Multisite Study, Health Security, 2022, 20 (3), pp. 222-229

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