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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and the Fire Services Department conducted a contingency drill this morning (24 June) to familiarise staff with contingency measures in handling casualties of chemical incidents and to evaluate the measures.
A QEH spokesman said: "The drill conducted this morning simulated a scenario where the Accident & Emergency Department (AED) of QEH had to receive over 10 casualties from an incident in an MTR station where there was spillage of a chemical agent on the platform. A lot of people awaiting trains had to be evacuated from the MTR station. Upon assessment of the situation, the QEH management activated the Disaster Contingency Response Plan and the Hazmat Contingency Response Plan. Clinical departments were notified for the necessary support. Over 60 staff members of QEH and the Fire Services Department participated in the drill.
"The exercise was smoothly run. All routine hospital services including Accident & Emergency Services operated as normal. A debriefing was conducted after the drill to review the response plan and the communication flow to identify areas for further improvement."
The drill this morning involved the setting up of a mass decontamination facility by the Fire Services Department, chemical decontamination, patient transfer as well as use of the reporting mechanism. It was one of the regular contingency exercises at QEH to assess and enhance the hospital's response to various disaster situations. QEH will conduct drills as and when appropriate, and will also participate in the drills organised by the Hospital Authority and other hospitals.
Ends/Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Issued at HKT 19:12
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