Multi-disciplinary mass burn casualty simulation exercise.

Area of Science:

• Disaster Medicine
• Healthcare Management
• Emergency Preparedness

Background:

• Disaster simulation exercises are crucial for evaluating healthcare system readiness.
• Effective disaster response planning requires a multidisciplinary approach over extended periods.
• Assessing healthcare capacity during mass casualty incidents is vital for preparedness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simulate an eight-burn casualty scenario over 10 weeks to test healthcare service capabilities.
• To predict resource requirements including theatre, allied health, and nursing hours.
• To compare predicted demands with business-as-usual service provision data.

Main Methods:

• A 10-week simulation of an eight-burn casualty event.
• Prediction of theatre, allied health, and nursing hour requirements.
• Collection of prospective business-as-usual service data (theatre utilization, workload, bed census, nursing hours).

Main Results:

• Significant initial spike in theatre requirements, with ongoing deficiencies noted.
• Allied health staff operated at capacity, with major workload spikes during the simulation.
• Total workload demands exceeded staff capacity for most allied health professions; bed and nursing hour capacity were frequently exceeded.

Conclusions:

• The simulation demonstrated immediate and prolonged increases in workload demands across all professions.
• High baseline demand significantly impacts staff capacity to manage mass casualty surges.
• Findings provide evidence for resource reallocation and informed a review of mass casualty activation triggers.