How prepared are emergency crews in Vancouver for a mass-casualty situation?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – More than 400 people were wounded and sent to the hospital after the deadly attacks in Paris exactly one week ago.

The death toll is 130.

The city’s hospitals and emergency crews are credited for saving hundreds of lives. Continuous training since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January is a big reason they were prepared to help.

In Vancouver, hospitals and emergency crews around the region go through training scenarios with regularity, says John Lavry with Health Emergency Management BC.

“That includes dealing with a mass-casualty event or a multiple-casualty event. In the hospital, those plans are called ‘Code Orange.’ Basically, they call that out over the intercom so that people start to take actions to start to prepare to receive a large number of casualties.”

That may include a combined effort between multiple hospitals.

“Those plans include preparing for a whole range of possible emergency situations. That includes dealing with a mass-casualty event or a multiple-casualty event,” says Lavry.

None is more important than the simulated plane crash at YVR held around every two years.

“YVR is a great example of an exercise that does involve multiple hospitals. Full-scale exercises where we actually will receive patients at the emergency departments [are important]. Often, those patients will be made up with makeup and different types of injuries. So, we actually do practice, running people through the emergency department to really simulate that mass-casualty event.”

Deputy Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says preparation and training is absolutely vital to maintaining a high-level of preparation.

“Drills are really important and it’s something that, in the emergency management community here in BC, we have practiced on a regular basis. It really helps us understand where the points of connection are.”

She notes emergency agencies and hospitals are well co-ordinated and ready to deal with any type of disaster. And when they do happen, those disasters also help improve future responses.

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