Abstract
Objective
There are a few reports regarding the use of a hangar as a temporal medical facility
(staging care unit [SCU]) during large-scale disasters. The aim of this study was
to describe the activities performed by disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs)
at the hangar of the eastern Shizuoka physician-staffed helicopter as an SCU in the
2022 Shizuoka Prefecture disaster drill.
Methods
We selected the narrative method for this study.
Results
Four DMATs helped manage the SCU at the hangar. During the training period, there
were 3 instances of a mock doctor helicopter landing and takeoff and 1 actual eastern
Shizuoka doctor helicopter landing and takeoff while transporting a mock burn patient.
Four DMATs treated 3 mock patients in addition to receiving training regarding medical
materials. Such an SCU was able to reduce the burden on the disaster base hospital
because many severely ill or traumatized mock patients were transported to the hospital.
However, an evaluation meeting held after the drill revealed problems with lifelines,
safety management, stock, and quality management of materials in an actual disaster
situation.
Conclusion
We reported our experience with a training exercise using a hangar of the eastern
Shizuoka doctor helicopter as an SCU in the 2022 Shizuoka Prefecture disaster drill.
There are advantages and disadvantages to using the hangar of a doctor helicopter
in this way, so further investigation will be necessary.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 04, 2023
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
Supported in part by a grant-in-aid for special research in subsidies for ordinary expenses of private schools from The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
