MDH Earthquake Preparedness Program
60 Metro Manila schools,
hospitals, and buildings – vulnerable to earthquake!
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a National Earthquake Drill
in public schools on June 20, 2006, to promote preparedness when an earthquake
strikes.
On the same day at 9:00 am,
This information, education
and communication (IEC) leaflet, which was prepared with the MDH staff,
patients, and visitors in mind as users, contains the following:
- The MDH Earthquake Preparedness Program
- What to do when an earthquake strikes and you are
in MDH
- What to do before, during, and after an
earthquake drill in MDH
Instructions on how to use
this IEC in MDH:
- In the absence of an earthquake, before or soon
after you enter MDH, read through the
IEC and try to absorb “what to do when an earthquake strikes and
you are in MDH.”
- In the presence of an earthquake, apply what you
learn from the IEC.
- In preparation for participation in the
earthquake drill, which we strongly recommend, read and absorb “What to do
before, during, and after an earthquake drill in MDH.” You can do this a few days before and
one hour before the start of the scheduled drill.
- Use this IEC as a checklist, evaluation, and
reporting sheet before and after an earthquake in MDH. After an earthquake or drill, please
fill out the IEC checklist portion and submit to hospital administration. Please include discovery of cracks on
infrastructures; observation of danger spots; report of any physical
injuries on patients, visitors, and staff; and suggested areas of
improvement in the earthquake preparedness program of MDH.
Let’s join hands in making
MDH always a safe hospital for all of us!
MDH Disaster Preparedness
Committee
The MDH Earthquake Preparedness Program
The MDH Earthquake
Preparedness Program is part of a comprehensive MDH disaster preparedness, patient
safety, staff occupational safety; and corporate social responsibility
program.
The program consists of the
following tasks and activities:
1. Ensuring structural safety as evidenced by Structural
Safety Certificate.
2. Conducting infrastructure watching and monitoring
activities to identify safe and unsafe spots as well as to identify potential
falling objects and structures during earthquake.
3. Identifying evacuation route.
4. Identifying evacuation sites.
5. Formulating and constantly refining the Hospital
Earthquake Response Plan.
6. Designing and implementing the Hospital Earthquake
Drill, at least once a year.
What to do when an earthquake strikes
and you are in MDH
Instructions:
You can use this as a checklist,
evaluation, and reporting sheet before and after an earthquake in MDH. After an earthquake and drill, please fill
out this portion and submit to the hospital administration. Please include discovery of cracks on
infrastructures; observation of danger spots; report of any physical injuries
on patients, visitors, and staff; and suggested areas of improvement in the
earthquake preparedness program of MDH.
Place NA (not applicable) as indicated. Use the “remark” spaces freely
for your feedback, reporting, and other comments.
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What to Do |
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Not Done |
Remarks |
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Alarm
Phase Once you feel there is an
earthquake, keep calm and do not
panic. [In a drill, siren will be used to signify presence of an
earthquake.] |
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Response during the shaking |
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Stay where you are. Move only a few
steps to a nearby safe place. Do
not go inside a room, if you are outside. Do not go outside a room if you are
inside. |
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Instruct and assist persons
who do not know what to do and who are disabled. |
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If inside the room, |
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For ambulatory persons
(staff, patients, and visitors) - |
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Open the door to prevent possible
jamming. You may stand under the door
frame. |
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Move away from windows,
glass, light fixtures, bookshelves, or any structure that could fall on you. |
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“Drop, cover and hold”
under sturdy tables if present. |
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Stand or sit near concrete
columns. |
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Watch
out for falling objects. |
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For bed-ridden patients - |
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Have a pillow on their
heads to protect them from falling objects. |
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For
staff and patients in the operating, delivery, and treatment rooms - |
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If in the middle of an operation or procedure, stop
for a while but make sure there is NO ongoing bleeding, oxygenation is
maintained, and the life of patients is NOT unduly compromised. |
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Watch out for falling objects and be ready to protect
the patients and yourself. |
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For staff in the Dietary
and Facility Management and other Support Departments - |
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If working with machinery
and cooking, shut it down, switch off cooker, and extinguish any flames. |
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If outside the room, – in the lobby, along a corridor or hallway, on
the stairs, etc. - |
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Stay where you are. Move only a few steps to a nearby safe place. |
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Move away from
windows, glass, light fixtures, or any structure that could fall on you. |
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Stand or sit near concrete
columns. |
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Watch
out for falling objects. |
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Remain in this position until the “shaking” stops. |
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If inside
the elevators - |
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Get off at the next floor and follow instructions
under “if outside a room”. |
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Response
after the shaking |
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Be alert. |
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Prepare for possible evacuation. Look for indications for evacuation such
as:
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Listen for evacuation announcement from hospital
authority. |
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Watch out for fire, potential explosion, gas leaks,
damage to electrical system, damage to water system. |
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Report cracks on the wall, danger spots and physical
injuries to hospital authority. |
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Evacuation
(if needed) |
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Evacuate the hospital building and go to identified
evacuation areas ( |
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DON’T…Run. DON’T Push.
AVOID STAMPEDE. |
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NEVER USE ELEVATORS. Use stairs if still available. If not, use fire escape route. |
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On the way to the nearest exit of the building, look
out for falling debris. |
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For disabled people and patients confined to beds –
wait for hospital evacuation teams to assist. |
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What to do before, during, and after an
earthquake drill in MDH
MDH welcomes and encourages all its staff, patients, and
visitors to participate in its scheduled earthquake drill. It is free.
It will take only about 30 minutes. It is very simple yet will have a life-time
impact in helping all participants learn how to prevent injuries during an earthquake,
especially, in a hospital setting.
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Before the drill, please read this IEC, which will be
made available at the MDH Information Service and all Nursing Stations.
One hour before the drill, the mechanics and what to do
during and after the drill will be spelled out through the public address
system or through coordinators (wearing blue armbands) stationed in all floors
and sections of the hospital.
A siren will be used to indicate presence of an “earthquake.”
The duration of the siren will also indicate the duration of the “earthquake.” Upon hearing the siren, all staff, patients,
and visitors within the hospital premises at the time of the earthquake drill
will perform the pertinent activities listed under the “alarm phase, response during the shaking, and response after the
shaking.” Designated floor and
sector coordinators will observe, instruct
and assist persons who do not know what to do and who are disabled.
At least two “earthquakes”
(first and repeated shocks) will occur at about 5 to 10 minutes interval. The same
procedures are expected to be done by all persons during the “repeated shocks.”
After the “repeated shocks”
have stopped, all persons will wait for an evacuation signal, if any. If none is ordered, they are requested to
stay put in their respective areas for about 15 minutes as the designated floor
and sector coordinators will have a debriefing
session with them to identify problems encountered and how this can be
corrected in future drills. The checklist in this IEC will be used and
subsequently submitted to the MDH Disaster Preparedness Committee.
If there is an order to
evacuate, then the people required to evacuate will perform the pertinent
activities listed under “evacuation.”
MDH evacuation teams will be around to
assist once there is an order to evacuate. (For the purpose of the drill, only
selective evacuation will be done.)
At the designated evacuation areas, all evacuated “confined”
patients as well as “injured individuals” will be monitored not only in terms
of head count but also medical wise.
After the “earthquake” has cleared, there will be a
declaration of structural safety for a return to the hospital and all evacuated
persons and valuables are transferred to designated places.
An evaluation of the drill
will be done by the Disaster Preparedness Committee during the debriefing
session and through the checklist and feedback portion of this IEC. All MDH
staff, patients, and visitors are welcome to participate in the evaluation.
For further information and
feedback on the MDH Earthquake Preparedness Program:
Tel. No. 524-30-11