Health Sector Urged to Stay on Standby from Tomorrow for Three Days
The Health Emergency and Disaster Management Unit has urged the health sector to make preparedness and response activities effective by adopting high alertness.
Issuing a circular to Provincial Health Emergency Operation Centres of all seven provinces, the Unit made this request. The instruction to strengthen preparedness of health sector was issued after moderate to heavy rainfall along with lightning and storm has been forecast at different places of the country for three days from October 29.
The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority have requested all to stay alert considering the risk of disasters landslide, flood and inundation following possible heavy rainfall.
A circular issued by Unit Chief Dr Hemant Chandra Ojha urged to assign one emergency focal person to stay in contact round the clock, to provide contact details of the person to the Unit and made public the contact details. Similarly, the Unit also asked to keep emergency medical team with necessary health resources on standby as well as to update the details of available human resources, medicines, health instrument, ambulance and other resources by coordinating with partner agencies of health sector.
The circular instructed the provincial health emergency operation centres to ensure easy, fast and effective mobilization of ambulance service making continuous coordination with ambulance dispatch centre in province to provide timely health services to injured and affected citizens during disaster. Likewise, the centres of all provinces have been urged to mandatorily submit the daily reports of incidents and situation related to health sector through 'zero reporting' or 'incident reporting'.
The Unit also urged to prevent disruption in health sector, to ensure availability of required human resources and health instruments and to mobilize immediate response efforts in affected areas during possible disaster.
