Abstract
Objective: To audit the facilities for chemical decontamination, with special reference to cyanide poisoning, in all major accident and emergency departments in the UK.
Method: A simple postal questionnaire was used to audit planning, premises, equipment, protection for staff, and stocks of specific antidotes to cyanide poisoning.
Results: 227 questionnaires from 261 departments (87%) were returned and used in the survey. Of the 227 departments who responded, 151 (66%) had a written plan; 168 (74%) departments had premises for decontamination; 55 (24%) were judged to have satisfactory premises; 146 (64%) departments had a shower or hose for decontamination; 60 (26%) departments had a decontamination trolley suitable for "stretcher" patients; 203 (89%) had some protective equipment for staff but only 77 (34%) had complete protection—that is, goggles, chemical resistant clothing, and breathing apparatus. In the authors' opinion only seven (3%) departments had satisfactory premises and equipment to treat "stretcher" patients and full protection for staff. A further 11 (5%) departments were equipped to manage ambulant patients at a similar level. Some 205 (90%) departments stocked one or more antidotes to cyanide and 77 (34%) stocked all four antidotes. Thirty four (15%) departments held all four antidotes to cyanide and had full protection for staff. Only five (2%) departments had satisfactory premises and equipment to treat "stretcher" patients, full protection for staff, and at least three of four antidotes.
Conclusions: Most departments had some equipment for chemical decontamination. However, there were major inconsistencies in the range of equipment held and these limited its usefulness. Only a small minority of departments was satisfactorily equipped to deal with a serious chemical incident.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (151.5 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Burgess J. L., Blackmon G. M., Brodkin C. A., Robertson W. O. Hospital preparedness for hazardous materials incidents and treatment of contaminated patients. West J Med. 1997 Dec;167(6):387–391. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cone D. C., Davidson S. J. Hazardous materials preparedness in the emergency department. Prehosp Emerg Care. 1997 Apr-Jun;1(2):85–90. doi: 10.1080/10903129708958794. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Horby P., Murray V., Cummins A., Mackway-Jones K., Euripidou R. The capability of accident and emergency departments to safely decontaminate victims of chemical incidents. J Accid Emerg Med. 2000 Sep;17(5):344–347. doi: 10.1136/emj.17.5.344. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Totenhofer R. I., Kierce M. It's a disaster: emergency departments' preparation for a chemical incident or disaster. Accid Emerg Nurs. 1999 Jul;7(3):141–147. doi: 10.1016/s0965-2302(99)80073-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.