Assessment of internal disaster and emergency preparedness in hospitals using the Hospital Safety Index tool

While being vital infrastructure in circumstances of crisis, health and treatment facilities' equipment is at risk of destruction, and harm to healthcare structures may prevent medical services from being delivered. Enhancements could promote resilience, and assessing current facilities for internal disaster preparedness is crucial. An evaluation of three hospitals' internal emergency and disaster preparedness is presented in this paper.

Hospital safety and preparedness were assessed using the World Health Organization's (WHO) Second Edition of Hospital Safety Index (HSI) tool. The safety indices were determined by three modules: emergency and disaster management, non-structural, and structural. A safety rating, represented as a probability with a maximum value of one and a minimum value of zero, is determined by adding up the weighted results. Over three days, a multi-disciplinary team performed three hospital assessments through staff interviews and visual inspections.

The study hospitals' safety indices were 0.90, 0.60, and 0.73; two were classified as Classification A, meaning they will probably be able to function in emergencies and disasters, and one was classified as Classification B, meaning that short-term intervention measures would be required to ensure the hospital's proper operation in the event of an internal disaster. This study has identified areas that must be prepared for internal disasters to increase resilience. These areas include (a) infrastructure, which has weaker protection, access, and physical security due to relatively old buildings; (b) critical systems, which have emergency response committees established by hospitals and can be improved by hospital staff receiving emergency response training; and (c) non-structural issues, which include the need to improve fuel storage, cupboard safety, shelf contents, and fitting protection.

Classification A applies to hospitals 1 and 3, whereas Classification B applies to Hospital 2. The HSI tool is a user-friendly, all-inclusive instrument offered by a reputable organisation that should be frequently used to evaluate the internal preparation of different hospitals for disasters.