Browsing by Author "Smith, Wayne P."

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    Haiti : the South African perspective
    (Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG), 2010-08) Van Hoving, Daniel J.; Smith, Wayne P.; Kramer, Efraim B.; De Vries, Shaheem; Docrat, Fathima; Wallis, Lee A.
    Background and problem statement. The South African response to the Haitian earthquake consisted of two independent nongovernment organisations (NGOs) working separately with minimal contact. Both teams experienced problems during the deployment, mainly owing to not following the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) guidelines. Critical areas identified. To improve future South African disaster responses, three functional deployment categories were identified: urban search and rescue, triage and initial stabilisation, and definitive care. To best achieve this, four critical components need to be taken into account: rapid deployment, intelligence from the site, government facilitation, and working under the auspices of recognized organisations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Conclusion. The proposed way forward for South African medical teams responding to disasters is to be unified under a leading academic body, to have an up-to-date volunteer database, and for volunteers to be current with the international search and rescue course currently being developed by the Medical Working Group of INSARAG. An additional consideration is that South African rescue and relief personnel have a primary responsibility to the citizens of South Africa, then the Southern African Development Community region, then the rest of the African continent and finally further afield. The commitment of government, private and military health services as well as NGOs is paramount for a unified response.
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    Triage in mass casualty situations
    (Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG), 2012-12) Smith, Wayne P.
    The incidence of major incidents and disasters has increased over the past decades. A recent Oxfam report highlights a four-fold increase in the occurrence of weather-related disasters in the last two decades. Moreover, increasing urbanisation seems to contribute to an increase in major incidents. The Division of Emergency Medicine in the Western Cape has been compiling a database of major incidents over the last 3 years. The average number of incidents is in excess of 100 per annum. The literature may vary on what is meant by the terms ‘major incident’ and ‘disaster’, but there is no doubt about the challenges that these pose to the delivery of healthcare.