Few places have been more radically affected by the pandemic than hospitals, who have had to reshape much of their focus as the different waves have surged and ebbed. However, as the pandemic begins to slow and move into the endemic phase, hospitals are beginning to look forward, to rethink how they will handle disaster preparedness and emergency management in advance of the next threat, and to consider what needs to be redesigned to handle another event like COVID-19.
While many changes may need to be made to existing plans, three areas have been identified as being of particular importance by an article in The National Law Review, including:
- Ensuring sufficient stockpiles of medical equipment and PPE, as well as the people necessary to both maintain and operate it
- Considering surge capacity, in the event of a sudden, massive, and sustained influx of patients
- Operating under increased uncertainty, by planning for longer term events, which may have less clearly defined endings than disasters normally have
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