Abstract
This paper investigates issues related to health safety and preparedness. Among others, the paper discusses health, safety, and ultimate security of health care responders in times of emergency. For one to respond effectively, he or she must be skilled enough to do what is necessary in a given situation. The paper also looks at the connection between risk reduction and preparedness and alleges that dedicating ample time to prepare for any eventuality is a critical requirement if suffering and loss of human life is to be avoided. Without sound preparation, lives are lost and the recovery period extends unexpectedly.
Although numerous suggestions on how to handle health emergencies are available, the choice of a strategy to use remains the sole responsibility of the implementer.
Introduction
Threats to public health are encountered almost daily and state governments must be well prepared to deal with any eventualities that could lead to loss of lives and suffering. Some threats are caused by natural events while some are experienced as a result of negligence or malicious activities by humans (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). Irate individuals with intentions of causing harm to others may deliberately plan to cause trouble for others. However, there are some occurrences that are unpremeditated. Whatever the cause, it is imperative to have a well articulated recovery strategy.
As explained by the World Health Organization (WHO), preparedness has to do with being ready for action when things go wrong. It involves avoidance or prevention, lessening impact, and being fully prepared to handle emergencies of whatever nature (World Health Organization, 2007). This paper starts by looking at risk reduction through preparedness and then presents research findings and discussion. It concludes by highlighting a summary of key themes.
Reducing Risk through Emergency Preparedness
Emergencies or calamities often come to us unexpectedly (World Health Organization, 2007). Sadly, the repercussions leave many people desperate for help. As a result, governments are compelled to spend quite heavily on rescue operations to restore normalcy. As has already been explained, it is important to have a well thought out fall back plan in case life threatening events are encountered. A preparedness strategy provides a reliable guide on what should be done during emergencies, by whom, and how it should be done (Friend & Kohn, 2010). Such a strategy also clears any doubts or confusion common in times of emergencies. Simply put, emergency or preparedness plans are very critical tools for restoring order where things have gone awry.
According to World Health Organization (2007), threats cannot easily be predicted. This notwithstanding, authorities can have mechanisms that help to lessen their effect to humanity. Lack of a mitigation or prevention strategy has been blamed on several occasions for the suffering of innocent people that leaves them completely devastated, not knowing what to do in order to recover from a desperate state. Apparently, this has been a serious concern internationally, and numerous efforts have been made by the World Health Organization and other like minded organizations to assist countries prepare for health threats.
An elaborate emergency preparedness system provides a framework for the development of an effective training strategy by identifying the necessity, extent and scope of specific, predictable, and reliable outcomes in an emergency situation, and the underpinning competencies (Stellman, 1998). Evidence exists to show that a good preparedness system guarantees smooth continuity, less damage, and reduced loss of human lives. In the absence of such a system, many innocent lives get affected and a nation suffers serious damage.
Findings and Discussion
Many studies reveal that there has been a big shift in the way people deal with challenging situations. In the past, nations have depended mostly on charity work done by humanitarian organizations to restore sanity during emergencies. Although this has helped to a certain extent, stakeholders are quickly realizing the need to do more in order to safeguard the lives of individuals (Friend & Kohn, 2010). As a result, focus has now moved to effective planning for emergencies. Having a well defined strategy for intervention is certainly the way to go if the extent of damage to human lives is to be lessened.
Suggestions have been made by various stakeholders on how to deal with the challenges encountered during emergencies. Top on the list, however, is preparedness. Ostensibly, an organized plan for recovery is vital if people’s lives are to be secured in a dignified manner. Governments should also make every effort to rally community members and train them to work together during emergencies so as to complement efforts government efforts to save lives (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). This has, however, been criticized by people who strongly feel otherwise and think that it is important to have a team that is solely responsible for dealing with health related emergencies. Apparently, having a well trained team in place will help to avoid involving people with little or no experience in serious rescue missions (Katz, 2011). A professionally trained team of individuals is thus all that is needed to succeed. Besides just getting community members to work together and to cooperate with the state governments and other stakeholders, it is necessary for both the local and national authorities to work very closely to devise a common strategy for dealing with emergencies. Moreover, local and national authorities should engage with other stakeholders such as humanitarian organizations in order to achieve and avoid duplication of tasks. Clearly, health safety and emergency prepared is a responsibility for all and should not be left to state governments and other interested parties. Everyone must make a deliberate attempt to be involved in one way or another.
Research findings also indicate that an approach that includes all sectors must be adopted while addressing health safety and preparedness. It is generally assumed that the involvement of players from different sectors will enrich the exercise and many ideas can be brought to a negotiation table for the benefit of all. This is unlike a case where only one person is concerned with the rescue of numerous lives. While there are some interventions that may be controlled at a national level, others must be addressed at an international level. As such, the need to involve players at different levels in the society is very critical.
Studies also reveal the importance of identifying priority areas and treating them as such. While the use of an approach that targets individuals or stakeholders at different levels in the society, may be favorable and thus a priority for some situations, community mobilization may be highly prioritized in some cases (Katz, 2011). Whatever the case, it is critical to get priorities right. To understand the priority level, state governments should consult with all stakeholders including certified medical professionals, private institutions in the health sector, international organizations, and other key players such as community heads. Once priority levels have been identified for different cases, appropriate intervention strategies should be declared. This must then be clearly documented and kept safely. In the event that a disaster strikes, reference should be made to this document in order to select the right approach to the problem at hand. This eventually ensures that no confusion arises as to what should be done to restore normalcy.
Another thing that may be done is to dedicate as much time as is necessary to train people on the importance of being involved alongside government agencies during times of need. Apparently, the skills and competencies that are needed to cope effectively with a health safety emergency can be readily determined by identification of core risks and emergency control measures, development of emergency procedures, and identification of necessary facilities and equipment (Stellman, 1998). Emergency preparedness skills and competencies include not only planning and management of an emergency, but a diverse range of basic skills associated with the primary and secondary response initiatives that should be incorporated in a comprehensive training strategy (Kapur & Smith, 2010). The training should include things such as identification and containment of a threat to human life, notification, and mobilization as well as deployment activities.
There have also been suggestions that a health safety preparedness plan should be tested before implementation and improved where necessary (Stellman, 1998). Time and again, it is important to subject the plan to evaluation and any shortcomings must be addressed to avoid mistakes in the future. On many occasions, implementers have ignored the importance of continual evaluation to ensure that what has been agreed upon is something that will lead to greater benefit when the time comes. It is wrong for any person involved in dealing with emergency situations to simply assume that since a preparedness plan is in place, and no threat has been experienced, all is well (Kapur & Smith, 2010). Unfortunately, many only discover during the occurrence of an emergency, that what they hoped would provide the best solution failed to work as expected. Rather than sit and wait, a team should be constituted to keep testing the plan as frequent as is necessary, guided by what is at stake.
Conclusion
As has been discussed in this paper, health safety and preparedness must be taken seriously. Poor planning for emergencies will leave many distressed and unaware of what to do in order to move ahead in life. A well structured preparedness strategy will enable a state government to secure the health of its citizens during emergencies and to minimize the extent of damage and unfortunate loss of human lives.
The arguments presented in this paper have also hinted at the importance of advance sound preparation for dealing with health safety emergencies. Without a dependable strategy, confusion will arise during emergencies and human lives will be lost. However, this can be avoided if people are well educated on the dangers of poor preparedness and taught to be responsible. As the state government can not operate in isolation, every member of a community should make a deliberate effort to be involved together with others in one way or another.
As evidence from research findings indicate, a number of suggestions have been made on how to improve the level of prepared as far as health safety is concerned. Nevertheless, it is entirely the responsibility of every state government to determine what works best and to come up with an implementation strategy that will benefit all. As pointed out, it is important to categorize different cases based on agreed priority levels so as to simplify the process of recovery. Well articulated documents containing important details on how to address matters concerning health safety and preparedness should be referenced any time an emergency occurs. This ensures that mitigation is carried out without affecting people.
References
Friend, M. A. & Kohn, J. P. (2010). Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health. Lanham, MA: Government Institutes.
Kapur, G. B. & Smith, J. P. (2010). Emergency Public Health: Preparedness and Response. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Katz, R. (2011). Essentials of Public Health Preparedness. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Stellman, J. M. (1998). Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety: Chemical, industries and occupations. Geneva: International Labour Organization.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Public HealtH PreParedness caPabilities: National standards for state and local Planning MarcH 2011. US: CDC.
World Health Organization. (2007). Risk reduction and emergency preparedness WHO six-year strategyfor the health sector and community capacity development. New York: World Health Organization.