risk assessment for a bomb threat in a hospital setting

risk assessment for a bomb threat in a hospital setting

Hospitals often deal with a lot of extraordinary confrontations in the aftermath of a disaster. Not only are the staff and the patients threatened by the event but also large volumes of patients swell in the phase of the disaster. Apart from tornadoes, earthquakes and hurricanes, there is also human-made catastrophe such as terrorist attacks (bomb threats) or systems hacking that may completely or temporarily disrupt hospital operations. The following risk assessment is for a bomb threat in a hospital setting:

A multi-disciplinary team

A multi-disciplinary team should be assembled and trained to undertake a bomb threat control or infection control assessment in any facility (the bomb may be a bio-bomb). This is the hospital safety committee. The team ought to be well-equipped to determine the potential of a bomb threat occurring, the severity of impact and mitigation procedures (Nero et al., 2013). They will ensure that the staff and the departmental heads routinely assess activities to identify potential hazards. The team then comes up with a procedure for risk assessment in three phases:

Pre-catastrophe phase

• Planning- this will involve risk assessments and planning for timely preparedness.
• A manual- writing of the disaster plan in a document and availing it to all hospital sections
• Staff training and education- there will be suitable training drills undertaken. Drills shall be conducted yearly and documented (Nero et al., 2013).

Catastrophe Phase

1. Adequate information collection- in case of a notification call, the caller should be kept on the line for more detail and paying close attention to any background noises.
2. The next step will be notifying the authorities about the caller and the bomb threat.
3. Procedures to notify individuals to evacuate the building should be activated as the staff assists patients to exit the premises.
4. The police and the risk management team will extensively search the premises, and if the threat was legitimate, the bomb with the help of the bomb squad would be removed.
5. The risk management team leader will approve resumption and re-entry into the setup after consulting with the whole team, and confirmation for safety received (Nero et al., 2013).

Post-Catastrophe Phase

Activities of the emergency phase are reviewed in this phase to note inadequacies for improvements in the future…