The increase of natural and man-made disasters requires active management approaches. An approach that is comprehensive and includes four stages of prevention/mitigation of vulnerability, preparedness, response and recovery, and all different types of risks, whether natural or man-made, whether large or small. In every society, hospitals are key elements in providing services to disaster victims and need to be at the heart of crisis management programs.

It is important for a hospital to have a comprehensive disaster management plan for two reasons: 1) Safety of the hospital itself to remain operational in the time of disaster and continue providing services. 2) Providing conditions in which the hospital can provide the routine health care services for its population and meet the health care needs of the injured of accidents and disasters.

Comprehensive Program of Accident and Disaster Management in Hospital should address both intra-hospital accidents such as fire and hazardous materials leakage in the hospital laboratory, and external accidents and disasters such as earthquakes, floods, or fatal traffic accidents. Any kind of disaster management plan, whether at the community level, or at the level of organizations and facilities involved in disaster response, such as a hospital, or even a household should be based on risk analysis. In another word, disaster management programs will be effective and successful when they are based on a proper risk analysis. For this reason, disaster risk analysis will be the first part of this course. The basics and principals of risk analysis especially in hospitals will be taught. The contingent approach to hospital disaster management is another topic considered for this course.

This step-by-step approach will be described in detail and with examples. The process of formulating a plan for preventing and mitigating hospital disasters and vulnerability, as well as planning for emergency preparedness and other hospital related topics will be presented. The hospital incident command system will be described in detail as the organizational framework for guiding the hospital in times of disasters. The planning process during response operations will be the next topic. Finally, disaster and disaster management systems and structures are described at local, regional, national and international levels and the role and position of the hospital in these structures and the way the hospital interacts and communicates and coordinates within and outside the hospital during the events of disaster will be described in detail, focusing on the Emergency Operations Center.         

Given the significant role of hospitals in managing and responding to accidents and disasters, having a plan that can keep the safety of hospital in times of disasters and help to respond to a sudden increase in demand for health care is inevitable. A plan that is effective and efficient and results in the best use of the resources available in the event of disasters is needed. It should be comprehensive and include all risks. Policy makers should take an active, rather than passive, approach to disasters. The plan need to cover all stages of the crisis management cycle including prevention / mitigation of vulnerability, preparedness, response and recovery. The "All Risks" feature ensures that all different types of accidents and disasters are included in the plan. The purpose of this course is training the participants theoretically and practically for hospital disaster management, with a holistic approach to all risks. The following topics will be provided for this course:

• Disaster Risk Analysis
• Contingency Planning Model to Hospital Disasters Management
• Hospital Emergency Operational Planning (EOP formulation)
• Hospital Accident Command System (HICS)
• Planning Process During Response
• Disaster Management Structures