Immediate Bed Availability in Case of a Disaster

Abstract

Introduction: During a disaster, an increase in the number of casualties requiring hospital admission is recorded. This challenge the hospitals' management - there is a need for beds, rooms, consumables, drugs, and medical teams to support the increased number of patients arriving. Purpose: This study aims to analyze the awareness of hospital medical professionals about the required procedures described in the hospital contingency plan for increased bed availability in case of disaster. Materials and methods: 295 hospital medical professionals in the Plovdiv region, Bulgaria, participated in an anonymous survey that contained 55 questions. Results: Most of the respondents are not familiar with the approved procedures to optimize the availability of emergency beds after the disaster that impacts the hospital disaster resilience. Conclusions: Optimization of activities related to operational hospital disaster resilience must include training of medical specialists in immediate bed availability procedures.