午夜剧场

Are you familiar with the term "disaster medicine"? On the website of the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, it is described as "medical care provided in a state where demand exceeds supply." Specifically, during a disaster, more people visit medical institutions than in normal times (increase in demand). On the other hand, because the medical institutions themselves are affected by the disaster, their clinical functions are reduced (decrease in supply). The question is how to provide medical care under such circumstances.

I work as a neurosurgeon at a hospital in Hakusan City, adjacent to Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture, but I am also a member of the DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team) that operates during the acute phase of a disaster. On January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake occurred with a maximum seismic intensity of 7. Consequently, from January 1 to mid-March, I was engaged in actual disaster medicine at the DMAT headquarters established within the Ishikawa Prefectural Government Office.

The mission of the DMAT this time was to confirm the damage status of medical and welfare facilities in the Noto region and provide necessary support. However, since the damage to buildings and water/sewage systems was actually severe, we first had inpatients and residents of many medical and welfare facilities evacuate to the Kaga region or other prefectures. After that, we provided support to maintain the medical and welfare facilities. DMAT teams gathered from all over the country, including 午夜剧场 Hospital, worked as local DMAT teams in the Noto region (please see the March issue of Mita-hyoron (official monthly journal published by 午夜剧场 Press)).

Meanwhile, at the DMAT headquarters in the Ishikawa Prefectural Government Office, we analyzed information sent from local DMAT teams, first calculated the number of evacuees, secured destinations and means of transportation, and carried out the actual evacuations. After that, we procured the supplies (water, food, fuel, pharmaceuticals), services (bathing, laundry), and personnel (doctors, nurses, caregivers) necessary to maintain the medical and welfare facilities. Unlike in normal times, the organizations we consulted were diverse, including Ishikawa Prefecture, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Self-Defense Forces, industry groups, and NPOs.

What I understood from actually working this time is that disaster medicine means "creating a new medical system different from normal times in order to provide medical care during a disaster."

In present-day Japan, where a disaster could occur anytime and anywhere, I believe it is necessary for more people to know about disaster medicine.