Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T14:32:00.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Team Echo: Observations and Lessons Learned in the Recovery Phase of the 2004 Asian Tsunami

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Franklin H.G. Bridgewater ,
Edward T. Aspinall ,
Joy P.M. Booth ,
Roger A. Capps ,
Hugh J.M. Grantham ,
Andrew P. Pearce  and
Brett K. Ritchie
Franklin H.G. Bridgewater*
Affiliation:
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, South Australia
Edward T. Aspinall
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Joy P.M. Booth
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Roger A. Capps
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Hugh J.M. Grantham
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Andrew P. Pearce
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
Brett K. Ritchie
Affiliation:
Supported by the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Health, Government of South Australia
*
Franklin HG Bridgewater Senior Visiting Medical Specialist, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville Road, Woodville, South Australia 5011 E-mail: fbridgewater@picknowl.com.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The 26 December 2004 Tsunami resulted in a death toll of >270,000 persons, making it the most lethal tsunami in recorded history. This article presents performance data observations and the lessons learned by a civilian team dispatched by the Australian government to “provide clinical and surgical functions and to make public health assessments”. The team, prepared and equipped for deployment four days after the event, arrived at its destination 13 days after the Tsunami. Aspiration pneumonia, tetanus, and extensive soft tissue wounds of the lower extremities were the prominent injuries encountered. Surgical techniques had to be adapted to work in the austere environment. The lessons learned included: (1) the importance of team member selection; (2) strategies for self-sufficiency; (3) personnel readiness and health considerations; (4) face-to-face handover; (5) coordination and liaison; (6) the characteristics of injuries; (7) the importance of protocols for patient discharge and hospital staffing; and (8) requirements for interpreter services.

Whereas disaster medical relief teams will be required in the future, the composition and equipment needs will differ according to the nature of the disaster. National teams should be on standby for international response.

Keywords

administrationAustraliadisasteremergency medical servicesemergency treatmentIndonesiainjurynumerical datanursingorganizationrescue workstatisticssurgerytsunamiwounds
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 21 , supplement S1: Health Aspects of the 2004 Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami , February 2006 , pp. S20 - S25
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Cook-Anderson, G, Beasley, D: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA details earthquake effects on the Earth. Available at http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/jan/HQ_05011_earthquake.htm. Accessed 25 January 2005.Google Scholar
2.Speake, J (ed): Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. 1st ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; 1997.Google Scholar
3.Svitil, K. PBS. Savage Seas—Tsunamis.Available at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/savageseas/ neptune-side-tsunamis.html. Accessed 23 January 2005.Google Scholar
4.Allworth, AM: Tsunami lung: A necrotising pneumonia in survivors of the Asian tsunami. Med J Aust 2005;182(7):364. Letter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Personal communication, Flynn M, January 2005.Google Scholar
6.Maegele, M, Gregor, S, Steinhausen, E, et al. : The long-distance tertiary air transfer and care of tsunami victims: Injury pattern and microbiological and psychological aspects. Crit Care Med 2005;33(5):1136–1140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Leppaniemi, A, Vuola, J, Vornanen, M: Surgery in the air—Evacuating Finnish tsunami victims from Thailand. Scandinavian Journal of Surgery: SJS 2005;94(1):5–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Paix, B, Capps, R, Neumiester, G, Semple, T: Anaesthesia in a disaster zone: A report on the experience of an Australian medical team in Banda Aceh following the “Boxing Day Tsunami”. Anaesth Intensive Care 2005;33:629–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Taylor, PR, Emonson, DL, Schlimmer, JE: Operation Shaddock—The Australian Defence Force response to the tsunami disaster in Papua New Guinea. Med J Aust 1998;169(11–12):602–606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Zalavras, CG, Patzakis, MJ, Holtom, P: Local antibiotic therapy in the treatment of open fractures and osteomyelitis. Clin Orthop Relat Res 2004(427):86–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Farrow, G: Portable ultrasound on deployment: A pilot study. Use of the SonoSite 180 ultrasound device on deployment with Two Health Support Battalion in East Timor. Australian Defence Force Health 2001;2(2):55–58.Google Scholar
12.Langlois, S: Portable ultrasound on deployment. Australian Defence Force Health 2003;4(2):77–80.Google Scholar
13.Dittrich, K, Abu-Zidan, F: Role of ultrasound in mass-casualty situations. International Journal of Disaster Medicine 2004;2(1–2):18–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Samarasinghe, D: Disaster management: Lessons from immediate responses to the tsunami. Ceylon Med J 2005;50(1):25–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Anonymous. Humanitarian Information Center Sumatra. Who does What Where. Available at http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/sumatra/reliefrecovery/health/. Accessed 13 February 2005.Google Scholar