Internal Hospital Crises and Disasters in The Netherlands, 2000-2020

Abstract

Study ObjectiveInternal hospital crises and disasters (IHCDs) occur with regularity and require the attention of emergency managers, hospital administrators, and physicians to prepare their hospitals accordingly. Information on the frequency and types of IHCDs is limited and we aim to characterise the disasters that occurred in Dutch hospitals from 2000 to 2020.MethodsA retrospective search of news articles utilizing the LexisNexis database, Google, Google News, PubMed and EMBASE between 2000 and 2020 was conducted. All articles mentioning the closure of a hospital department in the Netherlands were analysed.ResultsA total of 134 IHCDs were identified in a 20-year time period. Of these IHCDs, there were 96 (71.6%) emergency department (ED) closures, 76 (56.7%) operation room (OR) closures, 56 (41.8%) evacuations, 26 (17.9%) reports of injured persons, and 2 (1.5%) reported casualties. Cascading events of multiple failures transpired in 39 (29.1%) IHCDs. The primary causes of IHCDs were Information and Communication Technology (ICT) failures, technical failures, fires, power failures, and hazardous material danger. An average of 6.7 IHCDs occurred per year and a comparison between initial and latter decade intervals showed an increasing trend with a rate ratio (RR) of 3.2. ICT failures have also significantly increased in this same interval with a RR of 14.2.ConclusionIHCDs occur frequently in the Netherlands and have marked effects on hospital critical care departments; EDs in particular. Significantly increasing numbers of IHCDs and ICT related IHCDs per year indicate a worrying trend requiring attention by emergency managers and hospital administrators.