Article Text
Abstract
Background Floods are severe disasters that can lead to illness, disabilities, death and economic damages. Ubon Ratchathani is a province that faces floods every year due to weather conditions. In addition, the geographic location is a downstream province which receives water from the main rivers of the Northeast. Especially Warin Chamrap District, which had severe flooding in 2022, causing traffic routes being cut off. Alternative routes must be used, resulting in significantly increased transferring time, from the usual 15 minutes to at least 2 hours. Interfacility transferring patients is very difficult, especially for emergency patients.
Objective This study to provide the effective guidelines of interfacility transfer for emergency patients during flood in the context of Ubon Ratchathani province. And to expand the results to standardized practices at the regional and national levels.
Programme Description This article is a lesson learned from the experience of caring for and transferring emergency patients during a flood. By collecting problems, impacts,damage and local resourses that occurred during the flooding in 2022 in Warin Chamrap district.Then summarized to provide “ Guidelines ” for healthcare practices in the management and transfer of emergency patients between hospitals during a public disaster in the context of Ubon Ratchathani province.
Outcomes and Learnings Problems encountered include insufficient resources during flooding, the hospitals doesn’t have vehicles that can run in high water levels, insufficient medical staff, limited budget of the hospitals, disease and severity that vary in each patient, changing topographic conditions. However,cooperation in using shared resources in an integrated manner at both the ministry and levels with clear coordination and guidelines can make emergency patient interfacility referrals successful. After using this guidelines, we take referring time only about 20 minutes per cases.For continuous development: developing a more expertise team, creating innovation regarding transfer. The technology:Tele-medicine,line,VDO call can be used to provide transfer emergency patients.
Implications Effective guidelines can help transferring emergency patients more safety, quickly, effectively in flood.
Conclusion Disaster is a situation where resources are limited, creating collaboration guidelines with private sectors and various volunteers, using shared resources can help to referrals emergency patients be successful and efficient.