Disaster Management Workshop on 07/04/2011

Disaster Management Workshop- Inauguration

Al-Shifa Hospital,Perinthalmanna,07/04/2011

Dear Chairman, Faculty & Delegates,

I am extremely privileged to take part in this wonderful workshop.I thank the organizers for inviting me today and I would like to place on record my appreciation for planning and conducting a workshop on such an important topic. I always have the feeling that nursing education, when compared to all other medical disciplines, has innovative practices and deal with more common problems.

When we think about disaster, we will have the vivid pictures of Tsunami, Gujarat earth quake and recent happenings in Japan. Disasters are becoming more frequent. We are living amongst hazards every day, if we count the man made one apart from natural calamities. It is said that 60% of globe is prone for earth quake and 68% are prone for draught. There is concern over the increasing incidences of hazards with the changing life styles.

What can we do? Inspite of repeated threats are we prepared to face any disaster? Probably today you are deliberating on this. Disater prevention is the best way. But many a time it is not possible. Then disaster preparedness is the one we must think of. In this doctors, nurses, other paramedics and volunteers have definite role. We are not prepared to learn from our past experiences and not able to improve the culture of learning. It calls for nationwide learning on Disaster Preparedness, responses, preventive measure and community education. We have to create a culture of prevention and culture of safety.

Nurses, being the key members of the health care team have a vital role to play in handling the situation with competencies at the site of disaster and in the hospital. Establishing centres for conducting training programmes and preparing panel of-Nurses Disaster Team who would spring into action with other organizations during such situations. Nursing Institutions should assume leadership roles in training Nursing personnel and paramedical staff including the grass-root level workers. The main stress should be on topics like Disaster Magnitude, mapping health resource inventory and inventory of disaster prone areas.

Western Kentucky University has a nursing elective course called The Role of the Nurse in Disaster Management. They started this course in January 2005, only a few weeks after the Indonesian tsunami disaster on December 26, 2004. This was after seeing the images on television and became acutely aware of how important nurses were going to be in the recovery efforts over the next months and years.

Disasters require managers to make quick decisions, and management science provides a framework for decision making and control. Modern disaster management includes pre-disaster planning and preparation, as well as crisis management. All too often, the foundation functions of management are forgotten during a crisis and the system produces more chaos than was already present.

Dear friends, this is a beginning. More and more nursing schools should join you and you should be able to initiate Nurse Disaster Team. Ministry of Home Affairs, GOI has a National Disaster management programme.750 crores are earmarked for Kerala in the next 5 years. Naturally we can utilize their help and expertise. I wish you good luck in your endeavor.

Thanking you once again