Ongole GGH holds mock drill to test mass casualty response

The Government General Hospital in Ongole conducted a mock drill on mass casualty management on Wednesday to test its emergency preparedness. The exercise simulated a road accident involving a bus and an autorickshaw in which eight persons were shown as injured. Hospital staff triggered an Orange Alert to demonstrate their readiness to handle mass casualty situations.

The exercise began when a call from the 108 ambulance service reached the Central Staff Room Medical Officer. On receiving information about the simulated collision, the officer immediately activated the emergency protocol. The Chief Medical Officer was alerted and issued an Orange Alert across the Emergency Medicine Department, mobilising a multidisciplinary team of doctors, specialists and support staff at the casualty ward.

As two ambulances pulled into the hospital, nursing orderlies and paramedical staff deployed stretchers and wheelchairs to shift the injured. A senior hospital official said the priority was to ensure that not a single second was wasted between the accident site and the treatment table, highlighting the coordination between the 108 ambulance services and the hospital’s internal medical teams.

The drill was supervised by Superintendent S. Manikya Rao, Head of the Department of Anaesthesia Jayasundaram, Administrator Adaiah, Head of the Orthopaedics Department Ahmed Basha, Central Staff Room Medical Officer Madhavilatha and Assistant Resident Medical Officer Sunil Gavaskar.