Care institutions primarily responsible for wildfire evacuation plans
The health minister says care institutions are primarily responsible for preparing to evacuate patients if a wildfire threatens them, after a study found 189 buildings with vulnerable people in high-risk areas.
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Care institutions are primarily responsible for keeping their own care going and must prepare for a possible evacuation, Health Minister Hermans told parliament in answers to MPs' questions dated 4 November. She also answered on behalf of the Minister of Justice and Security.
The questions followed a study that found 189 buildings housing vulnerable people in areas with a high wildfire risk. The MPs' questions cited a report headline that spoke of four hospitals and 11 mental health care (GGZ) locations in a high-risk area. The cabinet says the study underlines that wildfires can also affect places where people who are less able to get themselves to safety stay.
Preparation includes mapping reception or alternative locations and the transport capacity needed. What is actually needed and available depends on the local and regional situation, the size of the evacuation and the care needs of the patients, the cabinet says. In a large-scale evacuation, the care institutions, the GHOR (the regional medical emergency-care organisation) and other care and safety partners coordinate.
Under the quality of care law (Wkkgz), providers must deliver good care. That includes organising themselves so that continuity and safety are guaranteed during emergencies and large incidents, by drawing up emergency scenarios. Providers must know how well prepared they are for, among other things, long-term shortages of medicines and medical devices, or a failure of gas, water, telecoms and internet. It is up to them to take measures within their own organisation where necessary.
The cabinet calls wildfires a structural safety risk in the Netherlands. It is working on an integrated approach to wildfire management, aimed at preventing and limiting risks and improving preparation for fires and firefighting. It is also developing an all-hazard approach to the resilience of healthcare, meant to keep public health services, treatment and long-term care accessible to as many people as possible for as long as possible during a crisis.
Source: Tweede Kamer
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GHOR (Geneeskundige Hulpverleningsorganisatie in de Regio)
The GHOR is the Medical Assistance Organisation in the Region, a regional body that coordinates medical and health care during emergencies and large incidents. It brings together hospitals, ambulance services, care providers and municipalities within a safety region. In large-scale evacuations, it helps arrange reception locations, transport and care for patients who need to be moved.
Wkkgz (Wet kwaliteit, klachten en geschillen zorg)
The Wkkgz is the Dutch Healthcare Quality, Complaints and Disputes Act, which sets the quality standards that healthcare providers in the Netherlands must meet. It requires providers to deliver safe, good-quality care, to handle patient complaints properly and to give patients access to dispute resolution. It also obliges providers to plan for continuity of care during emergencies and large incidents.