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The Incident Management Response of the Emergency Departments in Belgium During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2021

Ruben M Haesendonck ,
Tinne Verhoogen ,
Luc JM Mortelmans Open the ORCID record for Luc JM Mortelmans [Opens in a new window] ,
Didier Desruelles ,
Patrick Van De Voorde  and
Marc B Sabbe
Ruben M Haesendonck*
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, ZOL Hospital, Genk, Belgium
Tinne Verhoogen
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Leuven, Belgium
Luc JM Mortelmans
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, ZNA Campus Stuivenberg, Antwerp, Belgium Research group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine, VUB, Brussels, Belgium
Didier Desruelles
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Leuven, Belgium
Patrick Van De Voorde
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University HospitalGhent, Belgium Federal Department of HealthBelgium
Marc B Sabbe
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, University Hospital Leuven, Belgium
*
Corresponding author: Ruben Haesendonck, Email: rubenhaesendonck@msn.com.
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that emergency departments (EDs) need to reorganize their operations rapidly. This study investigated the impact of the pandemic on structural and logistical issues at EDs and the measures taken. Belgian EDs were surveyed on the implemented changes at the start of the pandemic in relation to the 4 S’s in disaster medicine: Structure, Staff, Supplies, and System. The study demonstrated that Belgian EDs felt largely unprepared for this pandemic, but nevertheless dynamically restructured their organization. A 46% increase in ED beds was created in different types of structures and more than 50% of all ED beds were reserved for COVID-19 care, but overall the number of patient presentations dropped by 29%. EDs deployed extra personnel, additional training, and psychological support. More than 50% reported an acute shortage of personal protective equipment, and several reported a shortage of ventilatory equipment and medications.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2COVID-19pandemicssurge capacityemergency servicedisaster medicine
Type
Report from the Field
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , October 2022 , pp. 2194 - 2197
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

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