Initial response by clinical engineers during the Kumamoto Earthquake

Abstract

In the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, the main shock, which occurred in the midnight of 16th of April 2016, caused the significant damage in the earthquake affected areas. The initial response by clinical engineers were conducted based on the disaster response manual in the hospital. While the manual was effective in clarifying the roles of the staff in the acute phase of emergencies, the manual did not prioritize the order in the damage assessment and recovery works of the medical devices. In addition, the manual did not cover the reporting system between the disaster response headquarters and the clinical engineers. Based on these experiences in the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, the Business Continuity Plan (BCP) was drafted to establish the reporting system in emergency response and prioritize the damage assessment and response of medical devices. In addition, the disaster response drills were conducted based on the BCP to share the experiences on the Kumamoto Earthquake among the clinical engineers.