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Disaster Management Capabilities Beefed up at Dubai Airports

“Aircraft accidents create panic and lead to airport closures, therefore, in the event of any such disaster, we have to declare an emergency,” said Dr Moin Fikree, Consultant Emergency Physician, Clinical Director Accident and Emergency Trauma Centre.

During an airport disaster, emergency code 1111 is activated.

“With addition of the new Terminal 3, an increase is expected in the passenger passage and therefore slight modifications were needed in the emergency plan,” he said.

Last year, 36 million passengers used the airport while 40 million are expected to pass through Dubai International Airport this year.

Emergencies at the airport can be anything from bomb threats to
plane crashes.

The Dubai Health Authority put a Disaster Management Plan (Vision 2015) in place in 2006 and since then it has been activated only eight times during major vehicle and construction accidents. Dubai Police, Centre of Ambulance Services (COAS), Hospital and
Civil Defence are other authorities that spin into action in case of a
national emergency.

“Currently, there are three clinics at the airport with the major ones being in terminal 1 and 3. Previously we had one doctor at each clinic, and this number has been doubled,” he added.

“Though 90 per cent of the old plan remains, the total staff has been increased to 84,” said Dr Fikree. Last year, the Terminal 1 clinic handled 90,000 patients with various ailments.

There have been no major landing disasters at DIA until now, according to Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Emergency Physician at Rashid Hospital. “Only five minor casualties have taken place due to the disasters that happened including the Biman Airlines crash in 2007,” he added.

Meanwhile, with the National Emergency Authority in place, the health sector is stressing on the early need for a National Disaster Management Plan.

“Dubai is prepared for any kind of disaster, including any war that may expose people to nuclear radiation,” said Dr Fikree, while explaining the extent of the preparedness.

However, he stressed on the need for a unified disaster plan. Dr Mahmoud Zain El Abdin, Head of Disaster and Emergency Management Committee at Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah cited risk factors such as frequent fires, road traffic accidents and threat from natural calamities like tremors, cyclones and floods. “We have the National Disaster Management Plan at the federal level. But it is still on paper. Different emirates, departments and hospitals have their own separate disaster management plans. We need to bring all of them under one umbrella to ensure better and
faster response,” he had said in an 
Earlier interview. Director of Health Education Department in MoH, Sharjah, Dr Fadila Mohammed Sherif said such a mechanism would eliminate the current hurdles in coordinating with different
authorities to quickly respond to emergency situations.

“With a unified disaster management plan, each body involved will clearly know their responsibilities and with just one alert, all will be able to do their roles more effectively,” she said.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

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