The State of Qatar experienced a sandstorm on the night of April 1, 2015, lasting approximately 12 hours, with winds of more than 100 km/h and average particulate matter of approximately 10 μm in diameter. The emergency department (ED) of the main tertiary hospital in Qatar managed 62% of the total emergency calls and those of higher triage order. The peak load of patients during the event manifested approximately 6 hours after the onset. The Major Emergency Command Centre of the hospital ensured the department was maximally organized in terms of disaster management, and established protocols were brought into action. Multiple timely meetings were convened in efforts to effectively execute plans that included rapid emergency medical services handover time, resourcing staff, maximizing bed space, preventing dust entry in the ED, bypassing certain administrative processes, canceling day-surgeries that did not affect inpatient morbidity, and procuring additional respiratory equipment. Patients arrived mainly with exacerbations of asthma and respiratory distress, ophthalmic emergencies, and vehicular trauma; surprisingly, the incidence of pedestrian injuries did not vary. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:227-238).
Background: As one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world, human trauma and injury disproportionately affects individuals in developing countries. During initial program development, senior MOHP physicians stated there was a critical need for a portable and flexible educational course on the clinical care of injured patients. To meet the need for improved trauma care in Egypt, the Sequential Trauma Emergency/Education ProgramS (STEPS) course was created through the collaborative effort of Egyptian and US expert physicians. The objective of course development was to create a high-quality, modular, adaptable, and sustainable trauma care course that could be readily adopted by a lower- or middle-income country. Methods: We describes the course development from 2006 to 2015, highlighting the challenges and solutions of creating a successful, flexible and sustainable in-country trauma care training program that suits low and middle-income countries. Results: STEPS was developed at the University of Maryland, based in part on World Health Organization's Emergency and Trauma Care materials, and introduced to the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population and Ain Shams University in May 2006. The program is designed to adapt low cost and limited resources with maintaining high fidelity and unified standard. In 2008, the course transitioned completely to the leadership of Egyptian academic physicians. To date, more than 700 physicians from 8 countries have taken the course through the Ministry of Health and Population or public/governmental universities. For the first time the course will be held in Sudan on January 2016. Conclusion: STEPS has rapidly become a desired trauma care training program proved by sustainability based on 7 years of course conduct. Success of this collaborative educational program is demonstrated by the numbers of physicians trained, and program continuance after transitioning to in-country leadership and trainers.
Background: Although Emergency Medicine has existed as a recognized specialty in Alexandria University since 1970 a recent shining as a highly competitive specialty since 2003 through an Egyptian Fellowship Training program granting a professional and not an academic degree. Emergency Medicine is still in its development phase as a practice. Five public universities are offering postgraduate degrees in Emergency Medicine. These degrees when obtained by trainees, in addition to a varying number of years of experience, enable doctors to climb up the medical hierarchical ladder, which begins with a resident post till Senior consultant one. Methods: We describe the development of Emergency Medicine as a separate specialty in Egypt highlighting the history, challenges we faced, collaborations and recommendations for future improvement of Emergency Medicine training in Egypt. Results: As of August 2015, there are five Emergency Medicine educational programs in Egypt, which are primarily based upon the British model of obtaining a masters or higher degree. The largest of these, the Egyptian Fellowship program, is supported by the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) and is the country's most formalized and acknowledged training program. Currently, there are more than 300 specialists graduated with 32 registered consultants. However, the majority of the qualified graduated physicians capable of leading the field of Emergency Medicine had left Egypt due to financial, social and economic stresses. Conclusion: Although, the fast developing field of Emergency Medicine, Egypt still need an urgent well-structured system supported by Ministry of Health and population. There needs to be creation of an Emergency Medicine committee by Egyptian board certified emergency physicians to monitor and improve the training and exams done by universities, and holding of regional conferences to enhance Emergency Medicine in Egypt and the Middle East region.
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