The Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces: Applicability in a University Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Hospitals provide healthcare services to society during and after emergencies. Therefore, the hospitals should be well-prepared for emergencies and have easy applicable, and efficient emergency plans. We aimed to investigate the applicability of emergency regulations in a university hospital.

Methods: It is a descriptive study in which the current emergency plan of a university hospital is compared with the regulations and legislation in effect in Turkey. The number of teams and officials included in the teams in the current legislative emergency plan are identified and compared to the available emergency teams in a hospital for the present study.

Results: The present study identified the potential emergencies in accordance with the “Regulation on Emergencies in Workplaces” and the conditions in the particular region and hospital. 16 teams were identified for these emergencies and the number of officials in each team was confirmed. In the current staff of the hospital, there were 12 teams. Additionally, three teams were identified in the current hospital team that was not stated in the regulation. Although stipulated in the regulations, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear teams, and national medical rescue teams were not available in the hospital. Therefore, these teams and the number of officials in each team were determined.

Discussion: Due to the geopolitical location of Turkey, the high disaster risk in the region, and the history of disasters, all hospitals should have applicable and constantly updated emergency plans. The number of teams in emergency plans and the number of officials in these teams should be arranged under current legislation, size of the hospitals, risk analyses, and functionality. With this study, we determined the emergency teams and the number of staff in the hospital.