Disasters, both natural and human-made, are part and parcel of life and cannot be avoided. Nonetheless, different preparedness measures can be undertaken to reduce the effects should such calamities take place. A hospital should always be prepared for a disaster, and the best time for such preparation is before it takes place. During that time, all the necessary resources are put in place in anticipation of any possible occurrence.
Key Stakeholders
Lyles et al. (2017) categorize stakeholders into three groups; internal, external, and interface stakeholders. In a hospital setting, internal stakeholders are staff such as doctors and nurses, while external stakeholders include suppliers and special interest groups. On the other hand, interface stakeholders include senior staff and trustees, who represent the interests of the hospital. To ensure a well- rounded contingency plan, all the stakeholders have to stay informed. They all play a part in the success of the healthcare facility and thus should be included.
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Key Metrics
The most important goal for hospitals is ensuring patient safety, which is why they set up systems of metrics to aid in accomplishing it. During a calamity, there may be chaos, which at times compromises patient safety. For this reason, a reliable, valid, and usable metrics system is vital before and after the event. The safety metrics should predominantly focus on the measurement of errors and the measurement of injuries. There are two major categories of metrics, which are Error-Based and Injury-Based patient safety metrics.
Error-Based Patient Safety Metrics
Errors, in the context of patient safety, are defined as the failure of a planned course of action to be fully completed as intended. The errors may be due to complications of execution, planning, or the use of a wrong plan. Identification of errors before, during, and after an event is quintessential in determining the success of a contingency plan. When the errors are noticed before, they can be rectified, and this could lead to better results. Identifying the errors after the occurrence of an event is also important as it aids in better planning for future calamities. For the measurement of errors to be effective, a sequence of events must take place. To begin with, every error should be recognized and documented by a healthcare provider. Additionally, the format and charts in which the errors were documented should be reviewed, whereby the reviewer recognizes each documented event. After doing that, the error is thus said to be attributed correctly.
Injury-Based Patient Safety Metrics
For any healthcare facility, risk management is an intrinsic part of the organization. Traditionally, risk management measures have always focused on preventing financial losses, but patient safety is equally important. During a disaster, the medical fraternity usually has an uphill task not only in mitigating the risk but also preventing patients from getting further complications to form the occurrence. Therefore, hospitals aim at eliminating patient injuries to mitigate such risks. The hospital should thus have a safety program that will include these four components: hazard prevention and control, management and employee involvement, safety and health training, as well as worksite analysis.
Readiness Metrics
The hospital will use the Social Vulnerability Index to measure its preparedness for a disaster. Fatemi et al. (2017) define social vulnerability is a population's susceptibility to harm from a natural hazard. Considering the hospital's location, the population may be less resilient. Therefore, they may need the hospital's assistance in preparing for, responding, as well as recovering from such a calamity. Through the social vulnerability index, several hospital metrics can be measured. The first one is hospital safety, where the infrastructure is critically examined to point out and rectify vulnerabilities. The second metric is disaster logistics management and disaster stockpiles, whereby disaster resources such as emergency medicines are evaluated. If the hospital received donations or held fundraisings to raise money for disasters, a close examination of how the funds were used is also crucial. The last metric that is looked at is emergency staff, training, and drills, which is the constitution of the group, their roles, and responsibility. The staff's ability to offer public emergency education to the community is also thoroughly scrutinized. Such metrics are important as they portray the hospital's readiness for the disaster.
Contingency planning is extremely important within a healthcare setting. When making plans for other hospital requirements such as medicines, the expected outcomes are clear from the start, thus making the process easier. However, when planning for a calamity, one has no idea which disaster may befall the community around the hospital. The process, hence, becomes difficult as one has to plan for all possibilities. A contingency plan is vital for the hospital as it keeps all the stakeholders ready for anything. Regardless of the nature of the occurrence, a contingency plan will help mitigate the risks and reduce the effects of the disaster (Rathnayake et al. 2019). As a health administrator, I would use the information to gauge the hospital's preparedness. The Social Vulnerability Index, in particular, not only measures hospital metrics but also gauges the population's possible response to a disaster (Hallisey, 2018). Some of the metrics used are a source of income, response to previous calamities, gender, availability of resources, and access to information. Such information will help incorporate the hospital's contingency plans, as it will ensure they are in line with the people's expectations. The Social Vulnerability Index will ensure that I check the inefficiencies of the plan and make changes where necessary to improve it.
References
Fatemi, F., Ardalan, A., Aguirre, B., Mansouri, N., & Mohammadfam, I. (2017). Social Vulnerability Indicators in Disasters: Findings from A Systematic Review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction , 22 , 219-227.
Hallisey, E. J. (2018). Measuring Community Vulnerability to Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index. Journal of Environmental Health , 80 (10), 34-36.
Lyles, A. A., Overgaard, P. M., Caputo, G. L., & Reifsnider, E. (2017). Stakeholders' Perceptions of Care Coordination: A Participatory Process. Journal of Pediatric Health Care , 31 (5), 555-559.
Rathnayake, D., Clarke, M., & Jayasooriya, L. (2019). Hospital Surge Capacity: The Importance of Better Hospital Pre-Planning to Cope with Patient Surge During Dengue Epidemics–A Systematic Review. International Journal of Healthcare Management , 1-8.
