Abstract
Aim: Based on a case study, the authors, members of a heavy urban search and rescue unit (HUSAR Poland) of the State Fire Service (SFS), who participated in relief operations in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquake, try to describe the roles of medical teams within this specialist organisation.
Introduction: The article starts by enumerating the key organisational bodies of the State Fire Service where the Unit’s members normally work, and proceeds to outline the history of its formal establishment, including the appointment of the first SFS Chief Commander Team for Search & Rescue. Then it describes the role of the uniform search and rescue procedures within the State Rescue and Fire-Fighting System, and presents previous international operations following earthquakes, in which Polish firefighters participated. Finally, the paper explains the legal basis for the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the importance of its guidelines for specifying minimum international standards, and lists all the components of HUSAR Poland. The purpose of this paper was to address the question concerning the best way to utilise the potential of HUSAR Poland’s medical component during foreign search & rescue operations.
Methodology: Research material comprised international and domestic standards which govern the functioning of HUSAR Poland and which define the minimum standards for search and rescue groups and foreign medical teams. The paper analyses HUSAR Poland’s involvement in the 2015 Nepal operation, and conclusions drawn from the 2010 Haiti operation. Its primary research method was the analysis of documents and statistical data. The article provides an overview of USAR Poland’s medical team at different phases of the Response Cycle, and documents used in practice. As shown in the title, special attention was given to describing medical roles and responsibilities fulfilled during the Nepal operation. The authors not only present some statistical examples for the Unit’s medical team involvement in Nepal, but also refer to some similar activities carried out during the 2010 Haiti operation.
Results: In the Summary and conclusions section, the authors tried to identify the most effective ways of utilising HUSAR Poland’s medical component in international operations, immediately after the search & rescue phase involving the recovery of victims from the rubble (known as beyond the rubble) is completed, so that its potential can be used in full to meet the expectations of the affected communities and the local emergency services. These conclusions suggest that a possible role could be to serve the functions similar to those defined by the World Health Organisation for Foreign Medical Teams Type 1.
Keywords: INSARAG, HUSAR POLAND, rescue, medical team, Nepal, earthquake
Type of article: case study