Practicing mass casualty scenarios: Experience from a developing level 1 trauma center in the himalayan foothills

Abstract

Objective: Uttarakhand is an Indian state in the Himalayan foothills, a favored adventure destination in the country due to abundant natural beauty. However, the terrain has also conferred an increased risk of earthquakes, flash floods, and major road tragedies, resulting in as many as 8 major natural disasters in the state in the preceding 20 years. AIIMS Rishikesh, an autonomous central institute, has been entrusted to build a Level 1 Trauma Center in Uttarakhand, which would help improve the response, coordination, and hence outcome in mass casualty scenarios (MCSs). Methods: As a step toward the achievement of this larger goal, a workshop on MCS and management was conducted by the Department of Trauma Surgery in collaboration with Rambam Hospital, Haifa. We hereby present our template for conducting MCS drills in low resource settings like ours and the lessons learnt. Results: Process, logistics, limitations, workforce, scheduling, overview, and report of the MCS drill conducted are discussed hereafter. Conclusion: This template may be replicated by hospitals that intend to conduct similar MCS drills in low resource settings, realizing the real threat of MCS occurrence in our country at anytime.