Disaster Nursing

DISASTER NURSING

It is the adaptation of professional nursing knowledge, skills and attitude in recognising and meeting the nursing and medical needs of disaster victims.

1. Basic Principles in Planning for Disaster Nursing

N – Nursing plan should be integrated and coordinated

U – Update physical and psychological preparedness

R – Responsible for organising, teaching and supervision

S – Stimulate community participation E – Exercise competence

2. START- Simple Triage Rabid treatment

·           Those who are beyond help

·            The injured who can be helped by

·           The injured whose transport can be

·           Those with injuries who ned helps less urgently

3. Epidemiologic Surveillance and disease control

·           Implement as soon as possible all public health measures

·           Organise a reliable disease reporting system

·           To identify out breaks and promptly initiate control measures

·           Investigate all reports of disease outbreak rapidly

·            Vaccination - Health authorities are often under considerable public and political pressure to begin mass vaccination program usually against typhoid, cholera and tetanus.

Nutrition

·           Assessing the food supplies after the disaster

·            Assessing the nutritional needs of the affected population

·           Calculating daily food rations and need for the larger population group

·           Maintaining the nutritional status of the affected population

Protection Measures

•            Water supply, priority of ensuring water availability in emergency situation, chlorination it is the best way of disinfecting water.

•            Restrict access to people and animal if possible erect fence and appoint a guard

•            Ensure adequate excreta disposal at a safer distance from water source

•            Prohibit  bathing, washing and animal husbandry up-stream of intake points in rivers and streams

•            Upgrade wells to ensure that they are protected from contamination

•            Estimate the maximum yield of wells and if necessary ration the water supply

•            All water tankers should be cleaned and disinfected before transporting water

Basic Sanitation and personnel hygiene

Many communicable diseases are spread through faecal contamination of drinking water and food. Hence every effort should be made to ensure the sanitary disposal of excreta. Emergency latrines should be made available to the displaced, where toilet facility have been destroyed, washing, cleaning and bathing facility should be provided to the displaced persons.

Vector Control

Vector borne diseases should be intensified in the emergency and rehabilitation period, especially in areas where such disease are known to be endemic. Special concerns are Dengue fever and Malaria, Leptospirosis and rat bite fever, typhoid and plaque. Flood water provides chance for breeding opportunities for mosquitos.

4. Role in disaster preparedness

•   Facilitate preparedness

•  Initiate and update disaster plan   

•  Provide    educational

 programme in specific area

• Organize disaster drills (mass drills)

•  Provide updated record

• Educate the vulnerable population

•  Nurse should seek safe environment

•  Assess the environmental hazard

•  Understand the community resources

•  Physical readiness

•  Professional readiness

•  Community readiness.