Risk crisis management and future challenges for national and local governments during major natural disasters

Abstract

Many large-scale disaster experiences are creating major changes in disaster response, including disaster medical care.

Disaster medical care is listed in several laws, such as Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act, Disaster Relief Act, and Medical Care Act, but there is no law that uniformly defines the contents of disaster medical care. In order to ensure the integrity of the disaster medical care system and enable it to properly exert its power, it is necessary to introduce uniform legalization of disaster medical care.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is discussing components of the medical care delivery system during disaster periods, such as the disaster medical care coordinator and the prefectural healthcare coordination headquarters.

It is important for hospitals to carry out their functions during disaster periods. It is important to strengthen hospitals’ disaster prevention capacities. In addition, it is important for hospitals to strengthen their coordination with regional medical facilities and social function maintenance organizations. It is necessary to formulate a business continuity plan that takes these factors into consideration.

Currently, regional comprehensive care systems are being established in each region of Japan. The regional comprehensive care system and the disaster medical care show common elements in many aspects, because hospitals should usually cooperate with multiple organizations to establish regional comprehensive care systems, at the time of disasters, as well.

When regional comprehensive care systems are to be enhanced, established networks will show better performances effectively even in large-scale disasters to protect the lives and health of sufferers. The ultimate goal should be to re-establish the regional comprehensive care system from any terrible disaster.

As the lives and property of citizens of the community should be protected from disasters, unified rules might be urgent for synchronized operations with the affordable all resources in disaster medical care.