6. Mass casualty management
A mass casualty incident is the type of emergency situation that produces more patients than the local health services can handle with routine procedures. Thus, extraordinary measures and assistance are required, and this alters the normal provision of health services and emergency care.
The Incident Command System (ICS) (see part one of this Module) is increasingly used to direct on-site response operations in emergencies with massive numbers of victims. The ICS facilitates emergency work by unifying operations under a single command, by standardizing procedures, and by establishing a common terminology for all actors in the intervention.
The Health Sector should assume leadership in creating a plan to manage a massive numbers of victims. The plan should define the elements needed for a coordinated response to this type of event.