Advanced Trauma Life Support ATLS Student Course Manual 2018

Appendix D
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
(OPTIONAL LECTURE)
OBJECTIVES
1. Define the terms multiple casualty incident (MCI)
and mass-casualty event (MCE).
2. Explain the differences between MCIs and MCEs.
3. Describe the “all hazards” approach and its
importance in disaster management.
5. Describe the structure and key principles of the
Incident Command System (ICS) and its integration
into specific practice areas.
6. Describe the role of ATLS principles in disaster
management.
4. Identify the four phases of disaster management,
and describe the key elements of each phase,
including challenges for trauma teams.
Contemporary disasters follow no rules.
Management of the medical effects of today’s
disasters, whether natural or human-made, is
one of the most significant challenges facing trauma
teams today. Disaster trauma care is not the same as
conventional trauma care. Disaster care requires a
fundamental change in the care provided to disaster
victims to achieve the objective of providing the
greatest good for the greatest number of individuals;
crisis management care takes precedence over
traditional standards of care. The demands of
disaster trauma care have changed over the past
decade, in the scope of trauma care, the types of
threats, and the field of operations. The ATLS course
offers a structural approach to the challenges of
disaster medicine.
Disaster preparedness is the readiness for and
anticipation of the contingencies that follow in the
aftermath of disasters; it enhances the ability of
the healthcare system to respond to the challenges
imposed. Such preparedness is the institutional and
personal responsibility of every healthcare facility
and professional. The best guideline for developing
disaster plans is adherence to the highest standards
of medical practice consistent with the available
medical resources. The ability to respond to disaster
situations is commonly compromised by the excessive
demands placed on resources, capabilities, and
organizational structures.
Multi-casualty incidents (MCIs) are situations in
which medical resources (i.e., prehospital and hospital
assets) are strained but not overwhelmed. Masscasualty
events (MCEs) result when casualty numbers
are large enough to disrupt the healthcare services
in the affected community or region. Demand for
resources always exceeds the supply of resources in an
MCE. It is important to determine the balance between
what is needed versus what is available in terms of
human and material resources. Any given hospital
must determine its own thresholds, recognizing that
its disaster plan must address both MCIs and MCEs.
ATLS priorities are the same for both MCIs and MCEs.
As in most disciplines, experts in disaster management
have developed a nomenclature unique to their field
and regions throughout the world (n BOX D-1). The basic
principles are the same, just as the principles of ATLS
are applicable in all organizations and countries.
the need
Disaster management (preparedness and response)
constitutes key knowledge areas that prepare trauma
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