Practice and inspiration of logistics support in rescue event in Wenchuan earthquake-stricken area
- VernacularTitle:汶川抗震救灾战区卫勤保障的实践与启示
- Author:
Wei ZHANG
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
earthquake;
Wenchuan;
health service support;
medical rescue
- From:
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army
1982;0(03):-
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To summarize the experiences of logistics support in disaster areas stricken by the catastrophic Wenchuan earthquake with the aim to improve the ability to effectively meet various military missions. Methods The experiences of logistics support in disaster areas stricken by the catastrophic Wenchuan earthquake were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. With the author's knowledge of commanding the health service in rescue work, a proposal was put forward on the organization of military logistics and health support to effectively meet various military missions in the future. Results The disaster areas stricken by the strong Wenchuan earthquake were about 500 thousand km2, in which about 130 thousand km2 areas were heavily stricken, and about 4.3 million casualties needed to be treated. The peculiarities of the rescue support in the disaster areas were as follows: urgency in mission, difficulty in coordination, urgent and rapid changes in tasks, and difficelty in ensuring supply. For the military logistic service, the specific services in disaster areas were: to strictly carry out the commands from high authorities and determination to carry out the rescue work of health support; to unify the commands, and coordinate as a whole to enhance the efficiency of health service command; to carry out rational deployment of medical teams and rapidly organize a combined military and civilian medical support system; to dexterously utilize every single resource of health service, and continuously enhance the efficiency of health service. By means of high efficiency of health service, the fighting capacity of troops in carrying out the task had been withheld and enhanced, ensuring timely treatment of the injured, and no outbreak of epidemic, which used to prevail after a strong earthquake. Conclusions In view of existing problems in medical support in rescuing the casualties in this disaster, such as insufficient preparedness of health service in dealing with catastrophic natural disaster, imperfect organization and coordination system, and backward in equipments and techniques, and the prospects that the necessity of developing military health service to meet the needs of various military tasks in the future, it is suggested that: the capacity to respond to meet sudden accidents should be honed, capacity of coordinated action in carrying out tasks by combined forces should be enhanced; the levels of surgical expertise and medical support should be elevated, and the construction of logistics forces should be strengthened.
