Together We Stand

[ 74 ] ties with details of the representative’s name, contact number, email and the official address of the entities concerned. The second session of the workshop was the ‘hazard timeline’ which was carried out with the participants. The session involved recalling any major disaster events that had happened in the past, which affected the hospital and the surrounding population. This exercise enables participants to understand and recognize the reality of disasters that they have experienced. These may include floods, landslides, storms and mass casualty incidents. The hazard timeline table consists of the year (any time after the hospital opened); the disaster (any event that happened during any particular year); the impact of the disaster (its aftermath including the number of deaths and injuries); and any changes that have been made post-disaster, in terms of policies or infrastructure. This will ultimately reveal a pattern that may help the hospital to plan better. The session involved participants in sharing their personal experiences and accounts during the 2014 floods in Kelantan. It was presented by four members of hospital staff including the deputy director and three doctors who took the lead in the last flood response. The presenters shared their action plans and what they had actually gone through with the rest of the participants, and the lessons learned were then discussed in order to identify other necessary measures that could enhance the hospital’s capac- ity in the future. The hospital staff who had gone through the catastrophic event would be more likely to have an understanding of how to improve the hospital’s disaster risk management. The hospital watching session was conducted by the partic- ipants in groups. Each group was assigned a specific zone in the hospital, where they performed observations focus- ing on the hospital’s capacity and the vulnerability of the physical environment. Participants aimed to identify each capacity and vulnerability and organize them in a presenta- tion with pictures, to be presented to the facilitators and other participants. Hazard mapping, vulnerability and capacity assessments were carried out by workshop participants with a focus on analysing the relationship between the hazard and the hospital’s vulnerability, capability and workforce. Each group walked to its assigned zone in a systematic manner, observing and planning as they went. They were then required to identify and mark any hazardous areas and height of the water level in their zone on the plan provided to each team. For each zone, at least five capacities and five vulnerabilities needed to be identified, based on the recent disaster that had happened there. The areas identified were recorded and photographed based on their association with either capacity or vulnerability. Participants were given approximately two hours to conduct their hospital watching activities, including the time taken to convene and consolidate all their findings into a PowerPoint presentation. Each group then presented the findings on their zone, and the rest of the participants including facilitators provided feedback to ensure the presentation was clearly understood and could be incorporated into the subsequent activities. The hospital watching activity followed the lecture series so the goal of identifying hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities could be achieved. It also increased awareness about disaster prevention, identified any problems in the field and proposed solutions for disaster risk mitigation. The next session began with a briefing to all the participants on the objectives and what was expected of them from the simula- tion exercise. A situation was presented in the form of a weather forecast news report which warned that heavy rain would occur in the next few days which could result in major flooding. Accordingly, each group was asked to prepare a disaster prepa- ration plan with reference to the hospital guidelines for disaster response. Next, each group was asked to discuss the necessary measures and action plan in response to the situation for 30-45 minutes, and finally to present them to rest of the workshop participants according to the respective topics assigned to them. While all the groups were fully occupied with their presen- tation preparation, a sudden announcement of breaking news occurred and each group was asked to react to that situation based on the topics assigned earlier. The second situation reflected an extreme situation in which the hospital’s staff and resources may be utilized above its known limits. The action plan was based on the current response plan in existence at the hospi- tal, and the capacities and vulnerabilities identified at the hospital during the earlier session. Each group was asked to present a disaster action plan at the end of the workshop. Observation conducted by the hospital workforce highlighted vulnerability to hazards in different areas around the hospital, and improvements where necessary. At the same time, the hospi- tal workforce identified aspects of the hospital’s physical and built environment that can be of use during a disaster. The Resilient Hospital Workshop is an experiential learn- ing tool that is key to enhancing knowledge about disasters. Textbooks may provide knowledge, but practical train- ing, capacity-building and experiential learning are needed in order to transform that knowledge into practice. The programme will continue to enhance the visual and analyti- cal skills of hospital staff to help generate innovative actions that can increase the resilience of the hospital. During the workshop hospital workers identified hazard vulnerability in different areas around the hospital, and improvements where necessary Image: MERCY Malaysia T ogether W e S tand