Iloilo city: A full-scale earthquake drill at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) this Thursday evening will test the readiness of its disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) plan. Dr. Wendel Articulo, head of the WVMC Hospital Emergency and Disaster Management Unit, said the plan, which has long been approved by the hospital management, contains all protocols during disasters, including earthquakes, mass casualties, and fire.
According to Philippines News Agency, the conduct of the night exercise is part of the Second Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED). It will have multi-hazard scenarios, including earthquake, fire, chemical spill, and collapsed structure. The exercise will allow them to look into gaps to further enhance their disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) plan.
The WVMC, a retained hospital of the Department of Health (DOH), is the apex hospital in Western Visayas. Its outpatient department alone caters to more than 2,000 patients a day. Civil Defense Western Visayas officer-in-charge Melissa Banias said that while they focused on communities and schools in the past, they chose a hospital for the exercise this time.
'This exercise was really designed to test if indeed their plans are really in place, especially for our patients and healthcare providers. Mobilizing our patients is difficult, so we need to test the plan,' she said. She said the drill will be challenging because they need to coordinate with various stakeholders, including hospital guests and visitors, neighboring barangays, and traffic management.
They will also look into the constraints within the hospital, such as the evacuation area, parking space, entrance for firetrucks, placement of the incident command system. Banias added that the evening exercise is critical because they would be facing a lot of challenges, like limited personnel, sleeping patients, power failure, falling debris, and other hazards.
'That is why it is very relevant and critical that we are not only prepared during the daytime. It is equally important to have the drill at night because it is where we test and verify if their plans are really in place,' she said. The hospital hosted the ceremonial pressing of the button for the NSED drill in Western Visayas on Thursday morning.
During the opening program, DOH Western Visayas Center for Health Development Regional Director Helen Tobias said that after witnessing the devastating effects of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Mindanao, it is really important not to let one's guard down. 'With earthquakes as an inevitable part of our future, our hospitals should make plans and take actions to ensure that disasters do not become catastrophes. It is also important that we involve everyone - from the staff to the patients and clients - in our preparedness exercises as every individual action is vital in supporting the hospital's overall response and recovery efforts should the eventuality happen,' Tobias said.
The drill, she said, is laudable and important because it trains the mind and body to react instantly when shaking begins. Thursday night's full-scale exercise at the hospital's Building A, including the emergency room (ER), will have about 100 participants. Part of the exercise will be a simulation of the transport of victims to the ER.
