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Surge Capacity Crisis and Mitigation Plan in Trauma Setting Based on Real-Time National Trauma Registry Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2021

Hassan Al-Thani
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar
Tim Frazier
Affiliation:
Emergency and Disaster Management Program, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
Attila J Hertelendy
Affiliation:
Department of Decision Sciences and Business Analytics, College of Business, Florida International University, Miami, USA
Mohammad Asim
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar
Ayman El-Menyar*
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar Department of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, Doha, Qatar
*
Corresponding author: Ayman El-Menyar, Email: [email protected].

Abstract

Background:

The objective of this study was to assess the current breaking point of crisis surge capacity of trauma services in Qatar and to develop a mitigation plan.

Methods:

The study utilized real-time data from the National Trauma Registry. Data was explored cumulatively by weeks, months and a year’s interval and all trauma admissions within this time frame were considered as 1 ‘Disaster Incident.’

Results:

A total of 2479 trauma patients were included in the study over 1 year. The mean age of patients was 31.5 ± 15.9 and 84% were males. The number of patients who sustained severe trauma which necessitated Level 1 activation was 16%. The emergency medical services (EMS) surge attained crisis of operational capacity at 5 months of disaster incident for priority 1 cases. Bed capacity at the floor was the first to reach operational crisis followed by the ICU and operating room. The gap in the surge for surgical interventions was specific to the specialty and surgery type which reached operational crisis at 3 months.

Conclusion:

The study highlights the surge capacity and capability of the healthcare system at a Level 1 trauma center. The identified gaps in surge capacity require several key components of healthcare resources to be addressed across the continuum of care.

Type
Original Research
Copyright
© 2021 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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