Impact of September 2014 floods in Kashmir on functioning of major Hospitals of Srinagar with special reference to impact on lone surviving tertiary care Hospital

Dr.Farooq A Jan; Dr.Haroon Rashid; Dr. Shahnawaz Hamid; Dr. Malik aubid

Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2016

Impact of September 2014 floods in Kashmir on functioning of major Hospitals of Srinagar with special reference to impact on lone surviving tertiary care Hospital

Dr. Farooq A Jan, Dr. Haroon Rashid, Dr. Shahnawaz Hamid, Dr. Malik Aubid

Abstract :

Introduction: The role of hospitals in the community response to disasters has received increased attention in recent times. Hospitals must be prepared to respond to and recover from all hazards, emergencies and disasters. In Kashmir during September 2014, it rained heavily which resulted in a major flood in Kashmir. 50% of Srinagar (summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir) was under floods. Methodology: A Retrospective review of sequence of events during the period of flood and aftermath was carried from 4th Sept 2014 to Nov 2014. Observations: SKIMS which is a 780 bedded hospital and JLNM which is a 150 bedded hospital were unaffected while all other hospitals of Srinagar were submerged. Emergency registration during the month of flood at SKIMS was about 46% more than average for the year while as during October it was about 39% more than the average. Emergency inpatient admission was 34% more than the average during September 2014 while as it was 58% more than the average during October 2014. Capacity building in terms of availability of beds was a major challenge. Though SKIMS had to open new areas for patient care, staffing was not a problem during first half of September as good percentage of staff members who were putting up within the campus performed extra duties. SKIMS not only met its own requirement of medical and surgical supplies but also provided some supplies to other hospitals. Patients were out of money . Many of the health care personnel who were supposed to be initial responders at the time of disaster were victims themselves. Conclusion and recommendations: As capacity building in the form of creating extra beds to manage increased influx of patients is a challenge, hospitals should have a laid down plan for creating extra beds. Hospitals should organize in house emergency medical teams to ensure that adequate staff is available at all times to handle emergency causalities. There are challenges concerning how to share information and coordinate overall activities among multiple response teams.