Phuket hosts international conference on disaster nursing
PHUKET: More than 100 registered nurses from around the world are in Phuket for a three-day seminar on emergency nursing, including how to respond to disaster situations.
The conference, organized by the Faculty of Nursing, Prince of Songkhla University, is focused on “Trends in Emergency, Trauma and Disaster Nursing: Using Evidence to Guide Decision-Making and Improve Nursing Care” and being held at Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket Town.
The hospital’s clear and effective plans used in responding to the 2004 tsunami and the One Two Go air crash disaster in 2007 made it a prime candidate for hosting the event, said Hospital Director Dr Narongrit Havarungsi.
Among the guest speakers delivering presentations to the 125 registered nurses from around the world are Dr Colin Graham of the Emergency Medicine division at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, Dr Julie Considine of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University in Australia and Dr Moshe Michaelson, Medical Director of The Teaching Center at Ramban Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel.
“There are many emergency-accident, public-hazard and disaster scenarios happening around the world, even in Phuket. However, the preparation and execution of plans is different for each event,” said Dr Prayuth Somprakit, CEO-Bangkok Eastern and Southern Hospital Group.
“It is essential to be able to save people’s lives in any of these scenarios. If a nursing team can quickly and accurately evaluate symptoms before handing the patients over to doctors, they will be able to save a lot more lives,” he said.
“I hope this international conference will improve our nurses’ knowledge and skills. This way we can handle injuries from a variety of scenarios,” he added.
— Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai
