People with psychiatric disorders are one of the most vulnerable populations in disasters, and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake reported higher post-evacuation mortality rates among psychiatric inpatients. A psychiatric hospital evacuated after the nuclear accident was surveyed to gain valuable insights for future disaster preparedness.

The authors interviewed two Odaka Akasaka Hospital (a private psychiatric hospital) staff responsible for evacuation due to the nuclear accident.

At the time of the earthquake, 104 patients had been admitted to the hospital. They were instructed to evacuate on the grounds that they existed within a 20 km radius of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Although the evacuation process was extraordinarily demanding, the staff acted professionally, and no patient experienced a significant deterioration in health during the evacuation.

It was reasonable to follow the evacuation order because of the difficulty of obtaining accurate information about radiation exposure and staff availability in high-risk situations. The staff’s knowledgeable and attentive care of the patients was one of the factors that enabled them to successfully carry out this severe evacuation. However, this may be related to the high mortality rate after the evacuation of patients who were separated from such caregivers.