Disasterous Alert: Katastroflarm
Karl‐Axel Norberg, Sven-Erik Gornitzka · Prehospital and Disaster Medicine · 1987
The area of Bologna, Italy has a particularly well organized system for the coordination of the medical emergencies.This unit is called "Bologna Soccorso", is located close to Ospedale Maggiore.It consists of the headquarters where the radio and telephone communications syterns are located along with 75 ambulances and other utility cars.The headquarters are connected with hospitals, police, fire brigade, and motorway control posts by particular telephone and radio links.They are also connected directly with the main hospitals of the region.In case of disaster, the information reaches Bologna Soccorso from the police, the fire brigade, etc.The Bologna Soccorso then carries out the recruitment of the staff, the recognition at the scene, and the dispatching of personnel and ambulances to the scene.When the injured reach the Ospedale Maggiore, they are triaged and treated according to an internal institutional plan for mass admission.The whole system has proven to be effective during the four major emergencies in Bologna's area in the last years: terrorist attack to the train "Italicus" (1974), 12 victims, 48 injured patients; derailment of the train "Freccia della Laguna" in Murazze (1978), 48 victims, 117 injured patients; terrorist attack to the railway station of Bologna (1980); 85 victims, 291 injured patients; and terrorist attack to the train "904" (1984), 15 victims, 193 injured patients.