Hospitals play a critical role in communities to provide essential medical care during all types of disaster. Depending on their scope and nature, disasters can lead to rapidly increasing service demand that can overwhelm the functional capacity and safety of hospitals and the health care system at large. The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe All-Hazard Hospital Emergency Preparedness Checklist aims to assist hospital administrators and disaster managers in preparing health facilities to respond effectively to the most likely disaster scenarios.

A checklist tool was developed that comprises current hospital-based emergency management principles and techniques, and integrates applications specific to hospital preparedness needs in the WHO European Region.

A list of recommended actions within critical service categories is provided in a step-wise, all-hazard form for rapid implementation by hospital administrators and disaster managers in response to the most likely types of disaster.

The principles and recommendations provided in this tool may be used by hospitals at any level of emergency preparedness. The checklist is not intended to replace standards and protocols already defined in hospital emergency management plans. Rather, it provides recommendations to enhance existing plans in concert with national guidelines.