Background/Aim. Resuscitation and surgical medical aid are the most important
medical procedures in disaster re-lief operations. The limited time frame
available for life-saving activities in such circumstances demands that
resuscitation and surgical medical teams be established and trained for
timely reaction and disaster medical support prior to disaster occurrence.
The aim of the study was to analyze the awareness among the hospital medical
staff in the Plovdiv Region of the hospital response plan in case of
disaster, which concerns surgical and resuscitation team composition and
tasks for disaster medical support. Methods. An anonymous survey, consisting
of 55 questions about hospital staff awareness of the medical activities
described in the hospital disaster medical support plan, was conducted
between July and September 2019 among 295 hospital medical professionals in
the Plovdiv Region, Bulgaria. Descriptive statistics and Pearson?s ?2 test
were used in the statistical analysis of results. Results. The survey
showed that the majority of medical staff demonstrated complete ignorance
regarding the presence, number, and tasks of the specialized medical teams
planned for hospital disaster response. Employees of multidisciplinary
hospitals for active treatment were more familiar with the aforementioned
plans than their colleagues from the university multidisciplinary
hospitals. Conclusion. Insufficient awareness about human resources
foreseen for disaster medical support negatively impacts the hospital surge
capacity, leading to inadequate medical assistance in such cases. Hospital
tactical disaster preparedness must be ameliorated by conducting a more
rigorous training program among medical staff related to the planned
hospital activities in case of disastrous events, especially for those
working in emergency departments, intensive care units, and surgical
departments.