Scenario‐based impact analysis of a power outage on healthcare facilities in Germany

Abstract

Purpose -Power outages which may be triggered, for example, by natural hazards and system failures are a common phenomenon, associated with large impacts on society including the healthcare sector. Minimising adverse impacts effectively requires an analysis of possible impacts and the identification of measures aiming at reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and assess the effects of a power average on the healthcare system in Germany and to identify possible preparation, mitigation and recovery (PMR) measures. Design/methodology/approach -To systematically identify impacts as well as PMR measures, a moderated workshop with participants representing different healthcare sub-sectors in Germany was conducted and complemented by semi-structured interviews and a thorough analysis of literature. Impacts were determined for three scenarios of power outage duration, ,8, 8-24 and . 24 hours. Findings -Whereas hospitals are in general well prepared with respect to shorter outages, due to obligatory emergency power in Germany, outpatient medical care, nursing homes (NH) and, in particular, home-care nursing are early affected. Failure of these sub-sectors puts additional strains on hospitals. If outages last more than one day and are associated with failure of other critical infrastructures (CIs), especially water supply, hospitals may be severely affected. Effective preparation and mitigation measures identified based on a facility-specific impact analysis, as well as good cooperation between actors, may reduce impacts. Originality/value -The largely case-study-based literature is complemented by a systematic and extensive analysis of direct and indirect impacts on the main healthcare sub-sectors in Germany, followed by an identification of specific PMR measures. As a novelty outage duration is explicitly accounted for. Also, interdependencies between the healthcare sub-sectors as well as dependencies on other CI are considered.

Health Care Facilities Resilient to Climate Change Impacts

“…Back-up power sources and strategies to deal with long lasting electricity disruptions will better prepare health care facilities for emergencies and disasters. In addition to disrupting patient care, power-outages can affect patient identification and records, access to clinical care, the demand for services, communication systems, and transportation to and from the health care facilities [ 14 , 16 ] and increase risks of infectious diseases [ 51 ]. Back-up generators should be tested and protected to ensure they are functional in an extreme weather event [ 35 ] and use of combined heat and power systems as a replacement for back-up generators should be evaluated.…”

“…Health care facilities are highly dependent on critical community services (e.g., electricity, clean drinking water, food service delivery, waste disposal and treatment) that are vulnerable to power disruptions as evidenced by recent events in Canada [ 13 ] and internationally [ 14 , 15 ]. Health care facility officials may have a false sense of security that critical services will be available in emergencies which may not be the case with changing weather patterns due to climate change [ 14 , 16 ]. Risks of critical infrastructure loss from flooding events are expected to rise with climate change and health care facilities will need to adapt systems accordingly.…”

“…Hiete et al . provide strategies to reduce a health care facility’s vulnerability to power outages and VanVactor outlines recommendations for ensuring supply chain management processes are resilient in emergencies [ 16 , 25 ]. Health care facilities contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions through the energy intensive 24 h operation of services and to environmental degradation through the high demand of health care services and operations on natural resources (energy, water, and food procurement) [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Reviewing qualitative research approaches in the context of critical infrastructure resilience

“…Also Hiete et al ( 2011 ) analyse the possible impacts of a power outage, focusing on the German healthcare. As effects and measures are strongly determined by the duration of the power outage, three scenarios are developed reflecting three different outage durations: below 8 h, between 8 and 24 h, more than 24 h. Discussions on these scenarios were fostered among the participants and three sub-groups were formed for the impact analysis.…”

Managing the health risks of extreme weather events by managing hospital infrastructure

“…Many patients' health depends on precisely controlled temperature and humidity conditions, meaning this can be a serious risk. And finally, hospital dependency on critical infrastructure such as electricity, gas and water has been found to be a major risk during extreme weather events since they are also likely to suffer serious outages (Hiete et al 2011;AIHA 2010;Hampton 2011;WHO 2009b).…”