Hospital Emergency Preparedness Training Course

Participants can assess priority threats and translate findings into preparedness requirements.

• Threat and hazard identification using all-hazards risk assessment principles
• Risk matrix scoring likelihood, consequences, existing controls and residual exposure
• Hospital critical functions mapped to clinical and support service dependencies
• Surge triggers distinguished from routine operational pressures and seasonal demand
• Local hazard intelligence sourced from public health and emergency agencies
• Risk treatment actions prioritised by consequence reduction, feasibility and ownership

Participants can establish decision rights, planning ownership and document control for emergency preparedness.

• Emergency preparedness committee terms of reference and reporting lines
• Executive sponsor, incident commander and departmental lead accountabilities defined
• Plan hierarchy: policy, emergency plan, departmental annex and job action card
• Document control procedures covering approval, distribution, revision and withdrawal
• Preparedness budget priorities linked to risk treatment and capability gaps
• Mutual aid agreements recorded with activation authorities and resource commitments

Participants can configure a Hospital Incident Command System for escalating incidents.

• Hospital Incident Command System functions: command, operations, planning, logistics, finance
• Incident objectives written using operational priorities, timeframes and measurable outcomes
• Span of control adjusted as incident complexity and workload increase
• Command staff roles assigned for safety, liaison and public information
• Job action cards specify authority, reporting relationships and immediate actions
• Transfer of command conducted through structured situation and resource briefings

Participants can organise an emergency operations centre that supports incident command decisions.

• Emergency operations centre activation levels matched to incident escalation thresholds
• Situation reports combine casualty data, capacity status, hazards and priorities
• Operational period planning establishes objectives, assignments and reporting deadlines
• Common operating picture maintained through validated clinical and logistical information
• Decision logs capture authorities, rationale, actions and unresolved issues
• Resource requests tracked from submission through allocation, delivery and demobilisation

Participants can design triage and patient flow arrangements for a mass casualty incident.

• START triage categories applied to ambulatory, breathing, circulation and mental status
• Triage zones positioned for safety, access, accountability and onward movement
• Primary and secondary triage roles separated to reduce classification errors
• Patient flow mapped from arrival through treatment, admission, transfer and discharge
• Clinical streaming criteria distinguish immediate, delayed, minor and expectant care
• Triage documentation supports patient identification, treatment priorities and destination decisions

Participants can calculate and plan clinical surge capacity for defined casualty scenarios.

• Surge capacity assessed through staff, stuff, structure and systems
• Bed capacity calculations include occupancy, discharge potential and conversion options
• Staff redeployment matrix identifies competencies, supervision and fatigue controls
• Care areas converted using infection control, privacy and clinical safety criteria
• Critical care surge triggers linked to ventilators, staffing ratios and transfers
• Clinical escalation pathways set thresholds for elective activity reduction

Participants can prepare staffing and welfare measures that sustain safe response operations.

• Staff recall procedures verify availability, skills, credentials and reporting locations
• Duty rosters incorporate relief cycles, rest periods and fatigue risk controls
• Personal protective equipment selected through task-based hazard assessment
• Staff family support arrangements reduce absenteeism during prolonged incidents
• Psychological first aid principles applied to staff and affected patients
• Occupational exposure reporting connected to treatment, monitoring and follow-up processes

Participants can establish resource controls for sustained emergency and mass casualty operations.

• Resource inventory identifies minimum stocks, burn rates and replenishment lead times
• Critical consumables tracked through usage forecasts and allocation priorities
• Blood product contingency arrangements address storage, transport and clinical release
• Pharmacy emergency stocks controlled through security, expiry and substitution procedures
• Vendor agreements specify emergency ordering, delivery routes and contact escalation
• Resource conservation measures applied before scarcity compromises patient safety

Participants can design accountable systems for casualty identification, tracking and records management.

• Unique patient identifiers assigned when normal registration systems are unavailable
• Casualty tracking registers record arrival, location, status and destination
• Downtime documentation procedures protect clinical decisions and later record reconciliation
• Patient property controls preserve chain of custody and identification evidence
• Missing patient enquiries managed through verified information and authorised disclosure
• Temporary mortuary arrangements address identification, dignity, capacity and forensic requirements

Participants can plan safe hospital actions for contaminated or chemically exposed casualties.

• Hazardous materials incident recognition uses placards, symptoms and responder intelligence
• Hot, warm and cold zones establish access control and contamination boundaries
• Decontamination corridor design separates ambulatory and non-ambulatory casualty flows
• Personal protective equipment matched to agent, task and exposure duration
• Clinical decontamination procedures protect staff while preserving urgent treatment priorities
• Contaminated waste handling follows segregation, containment and disposal controls

Participants can prepare hospital arrangements for infectious disease outbreaks and patient surges.

• Infection prevention controls ranked through the hierarchy of controls
• Screening pathways separate suspected cases before entry into treatment areas
• Isolation capacity assessed using ventilation, cohorting and staffing requirements
• Personal protective equipment workflows reduce donning and doffing errors
• Outbreak data dashboards track cases, workforce impacts and bed utilisation
• Public health reporting triggers align with notifiable disease requirements

Participants can prepare continuity actions for infrastructure and utility failures affecting patient care.

• Utility dependency mapping identifies power, water, oxygen, fuel and communications vulnerabilities
• Emergency power priorities protect life safety, critical care and essential systems
• Water interruption plans address drinking, sanitation, dialysis and infection control
• Medical gas failure procedures define isolation, backup supply and clinical escalation
• Information technology downtime plans protect orders, results and patient records
• Facilities status reports inform command decisions and external technical support

Participants can integrate hospital security measures into emergency response plans.

• Security risk assessment identifies violence, intrusion, crowding and restricted-area threats
• Access control plans establish entry points, credentials and visitor restrictions
• Lockdown and shelter procedures differentiate internal and external threat conditions
• Crowd management measures protect emergency access, treatment areas and staff
• Security liaison arrangements coordinate police support and evidence preservation
• Ethical access decisions balance safety, clinical urgency and non-discrimination

Participants can produce coordinated internal, public and partner communications during incidents.

• Crisis communication objectives prioritise safety instructions, trust and action
• Message maps prepare approved statements for likely incident questions
• Internal alerting channels tested for redundancy, reach and acknowledgement
• Media briefing protocols assign spokespersons, approval routes and update frequency
• Family assistance communications provide verified information and referral pathways
• Rumour monitoring identifies misinformation requiring timely factual correction

Participants can coordinate hospital response arrangements with external emergency partners.

• Ambulance handover protocols align casualty distribution and hospital receiving capacity
• Public health coordination covers surveillance, reporting, isolation and prophylaxis
• Police and fire liaison clarifies scene intelligence, security and hazard control
• Regional bed management supports transfers, diversions and specialist referrals
• Mutual aid requests specify resource type, quantity, delivery point and urgency
• Multi-agency coordination meetings use common objectives and agreed terminology

Participants can develop continuity and recovery arrangements for critical hospital services.

• Business impact analysis identifies maximum tolerable downtime for critical services
• Recovery time objectives set restoration priorities for clinical and support functions
• Continuity strategies compare relocation, substitution, redundancy and manual workarounds
• Service recovery plans address backlog, staff wellbeing and deferred care
• Damage assessment records safety, operational impact, costs and restoration needs
• After-action review methods convert incident findings into assigned improvement actions

Participants can establish a testing and improvement cycle for hospital emergency plans.

• Training needs analysis maps competencies to incident roles and departments
• Tabletop, functional and full-scale tests selected for defined assurance purposes
• Evaluation criteria measure decisions, communications, timing and resource management
• Observer guides capture evidence against objectives and expected actions
• After-action reports distinguish observations, root causes and corrective actions
• Improvement plans assign owners, deadlines, resources and verification measures

Participants can review hospital preparedness arrangements against recognised criteria and local requirements.

• WHO Hospital Emergency Response Checklist used for structured preparedness review
• Evidence sources include plans, records, inventories, interviews and test reports
• Capability gaps classified by risk, urgency, ownership and resource requirement
• Plan quality review checks consistency between command, surge and continuity arrangements
• Readiness indicators tracked through completion rates, capability status and exceptions
• Executive assurance reports present priorities, investment needs and residual risks

Participants can build, review and present a complete hospital emergency preparedness and mass casualty management plan.

• Planning scope defines hazards, facilities, populations and critical service boundaries
• Risk assessment findings converted into prioritised preparedness objectives and controls
• Command structure, triage pathways and surge arrangements integrated into one plan
• Continuity, communications and partner coordination annexes completed with accountable owners
• Peer review tests internal consistency, feasibility and evidence against checklist criteria
• Executive presentation states readiness priorities, resource requirements and implementation milestones