PROTOCOL OF HOSPITALS IN WARS
Fernando Antezana-Suarez
INTERNATIONAL MULTILINGUAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERT, WHO, PAHO, WB, USAID, JICA, WORLD VISION, REDCROSS, IFRC, WPRO, PROJECT MANAGERS WITHOUT BORDERS, GREEN ENERGY 4 ALLS,
There is the Rule 28 of the IHL in reference of the Medical units, besides this rule, what is needed is that hospitals should be prepared in time of conflicts, in the sense that they are not really of limits.
In reference of buildings hospitals it should be according to different standards and norms.
I have attached three articles that I encourage to read, if it is of your interest.
In reference of preparedness, if there is a conflict and it is known to the nation or region there should be actions to be taken to preserve above all lives.
Some hospitals, and most of the wars have been in developing countries, do not have a infrastructure adequate in case of war/disaster or conflict. It is known that normally, it will always possible that the system will collapse, because the influx of cases are above capacity.
The medical staff in most cases are not trained in case of a war desaster or conflict and there are no drills done at least in most of the hospitals of the poor countries, since the budget is almost always reduced and not a priority to most of the government programs.
The Health system is establish by levels, so you have the 1st, 2sd, 3rd, 4 level, and specific specialized clinics. It is only a superficial idea I am giving you here, is more complex.
Now the 1st level is basic, the a2nd is more equipped, the third is able to do surgery, and the 4th it is specialized, so not all hospitals are equal in infrastructure, equipment and staff. War does not select according to what level. so you can have a first level attending the conflict it is not capable of. The others level also have problems. In some cases some had undergrounds, this is key in case of conflicts, but almost none really has.
The generation of power should be backed by a proper backup system, or generator, in case electricity goes off.
There should be a emergency plan as to how to work and do the triage the fatest way possible to attend the injured asap. most of the doctors or nurses are perhaps not prepared to work in a conflict environment, there should be training.
There should be additional medicine stock, but most of the times the Hospital does not even have that type of money, and many even lack basic medicine.
First Aid knowledge is key not only for medical staff but also administrative staff.
领英推è
And just to finalize this small description, since there are many things I cannot mention due to the extension, in a following posting will do.
It is the referral system, in most developing countries, in some do not even exist, i other it does not work, and in many cases the referral is done only in writing, so the receiving center has no idea of the case before hand. An a key factor the transportation to the referral, in some countries they are on their own, and perhaps might never reach it.
MUST READ WHAT IS BELOW, THERE IS MUCH MORE MATERIAL AND THINGS TO MENTION.
Best
FAS