An Emergency Management Plan is a well laid out procedure of how staff in any given hospital should handle an emergency when it arises. The plan ensures that all the members of staff to be involved in dealing with emergencies are identified and assigned specific duties. Every hospital requires to have an emergency management plan, failure to which emergencies are not handled in an efficient manner, and patients end up losing their lives.

The Emergency management plan in Ennis hospital is divided into four sections in which every area plays a vital role in the emergency management of patients. All the four sections cover pre-emergency, during an emergency and after an emergency. The four sections include description of the program, mitigation, preparedness, and emergency operations plan which is subdivided into emergency response and recovery. Program description entails the names and responsibilities of every member of the emergency or disaster management team. The head of the emergency management team is the departmental head during which the department is headed by the immediate supervisor of the unit in case of his/her absence. The leader of the team usually reports his/her findings to the chief executive officer in charge of the whole hospital. The program description entails all the hierarchy/chain of command of the hospital.

Mitigation is steps put in place long before an emergency occurs and includes any arrangement done before reducing the extent of damage from any crisis (Reilly M. and Markenson, 2010). In Ennis hospital, mitigation steps involve the use of right and proper materials in the construction of the hospital, insuring the hospital staff and the building against any possible harm. There is also free space for isolating patient, and enough parking for incoming emergency used vehicles such as the ambulances. The area to emergency service is free from any obstacles to be it architectural that may hinder movement of stretchers, wheelchairs and other medical equipment in case of an emergency

Apart from electric power, there are two power backups from a solar and also automatic generator which are essential during emergencies. Presence of good pumped oxygen supply and good road network are also available. All these reduce the extent of degree of injury during a crisis. Another vital element is the proximity of radiology room and laboratory department to emergency room thus shortening the time and struggle of transferring the patient (U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA 3152, 1997)

In terms of preparedness, the hospital has enough health workers to handle any incoming emergency. The hospital has an excellent collaboration with other hospitals, state and local community and has enabled the hospital to maintain an integrated effort. There is also a good incident or accident communication command system and control center in the hospital headed by the team leader of accident and emergency team.

There are a few issues left that are affecting emergency services in the hospital. Ennis hospital should reconstitute the infection prevention team to deal with cross infections caused by fluids spills especially blood when an emergency occurs due to lack of personal protective equipment. Infection prevention is very significant in a hospital setting, as it ensures that the staff remains safe from acquiring infection from the victims (U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA 3152, 1997). It also protects patients from getting any disease from the staff. The hospital emergency team lacks reflector jackets which are essential for easy identification by other team members of the people being involved in the team and avoidance of confusion. The hospital should also put an alarm system in place for more comfortable reach by other personnel in case of major disaster or emergency.

The management of the hospital should also organize annual emergency drills to know the strength and weakness of its emergency team and also organize frequent training of staffs on disaster management (U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA 3152, 1997). There is no crossover with other hospital department responsibilities as each department has its independent emergency management team that deals with any emergency experienced in the department. For instance, a crisis in the medical ward does not interfere with the work of those in the outpatient department.

Table of content for a hypothetical emergency management plan

• Emergency management plan
• Sections of the emergency management plan
• Program description
• Mitigation
• Preparedness
• Response and recovery

References

Emergency Response Safety Series, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health             Administration OSHA 3152 (1997)    https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3152/osha315.

Reilly, M. &Markenson D. S. (2010). Health Care Emergency Management: Principles and        Practice. Chapter 5: Developing the Hospital Emergency Management Plan