Is the Australian hospital system adequately prepared for terrorism? The Australian Government’s response

Murnane, Mary; Cooper, David M

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00037.x

Topics

The government has undertaken roles in disaster planning and coordination to complement hospital and workforce readiness

Rosenfeld and colleagues 1 make many excellent points about individual hospital preparedness for terrorism. However, the article fails to fully contextualise the overarching emergency management arrangements and the considerable work that all levels of government have undertaken to support individual hospitals, area health services, jurisdictions and the nation as a whole.2,3 Many of the activities they suggest are already in place in different states. These include chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) training and health student training; media management; and tracking and identification of patients.

1 Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, Woden, ACT.
2 Counter Disaster Unit, NSW Health Department, Ambulance Service of New South Wales, Rozelle, NSW.

Correspondence:

Competing interests:

None identified

1. Rosenfeld JV, Fitzgerald M, Kossmann T, et al. Is the Australian hospital system adequately prepared for terrorism? Med J Aust 2005; 183: 567-570.
2. Emergency Management Australia. Emergency management. Assistance to the states and territories (COMDISPLAN). Available at: http://www.ema.gov.au/agd/EMA/emaInternet.nsf/Page/Emergency_Management (accessed Nov 2005).
3. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Australia's health emergency preparedness and response. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/phd-health-emergency.htm (accessed Nov 2005).
4. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Biosecurity fact sheets. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-bio-factsheets.htm (accessed Nov 2005).
5. NSW Health. Disaster mental health response handbook. Sydney: NSW Health, 2000. Available at: http://www.nswiop.nsw.edu.au/Resources/Disaster_Handbook.pdf (accessed Nov 2005).
6. Council of Australian Governments (COAG). Council of Australian Governments’ meeting. 3 June 2005. Available at: http://www.coag.gov.au/meetings/030605/#response (accessed Nov 2005).
7. Cooper D. AusBurnPLAN strategy paper. Australian Mass Casualty Burn Disaster Plan. Final draft. 2004. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/phd-health-emergency.htm/$FILE/ausburn.pdf (accessed Nov 2005).
8. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. National Emergency Medicines Stockpile fact sheet. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-bio-factsht_stckpile.htm (accessed Nov 2005).
9. Australian Government. Budget 2005–06. Health fact sheet 4. Protecting the nation against health threats. Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/budget/publishing.nsf/Content/health-budget2005-hbudget-hfact4.htm (accessed Nov 2005).
10. Arnold JL, Tsai MC, Halpern P, et al. Mass-casualty terrorist bombings: epidemiological outcomes, resource utilization and time course of emergency needs. Prehospital Disaster Med 2004; 18: 220-234.
11. Frykberg ER. Medical management of disasters and mass casualties from terrorist bombings: how can we cope? J Trauma 2002; 53: 201-212.
12. Edwards NA. Exercise: Supreme Truth — the report. Adelaide: Mediflight, 2003.
13. AAP. Car bomb explodes in simulated terror attack. The Sydney Morning Herald 2004; 31 May. Available at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855496152.html?from=storylhs&oneclick=true (accessed Nov 2005).
14. Landstinget i Östergötland. Senior instructor course — simulation exercising in disaster medicine. Available at: http://www.lio.se/utm/gen1.asp?CategoryId=8358 (accessed Nov 2005).
15. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The Public Health Educations and Research Program Review Report 2005. Strengthening workforce capacity for population health. Available at: http://www.dhac.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/pherp-review-pdf-review-report-cnt.htm (accessed Nov 2005.)

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.