Hospital staff, local EMS and Fire Department staff participate in hospital CBRN training

In 2005, the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care provided all hospitals in Ontario with equipment, supplies and training to enhance their ability to respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies.

The hospital’s Incident Management System Committee recently updated the Hospital CBRN procedures and recognized a need to obtain further training for the staff.  At the end of May, hospital staff, local EMS and Fire Department staff participated in a hospital CBRN training provided by the Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT).  A 3-day specialist training was provided to 16 people and an additional 15 people attended a 1-day operations training.

All participants had the opportunity to practice donning and doffing the special protective equipment required during a CBRN emergency as well as setting up a decontamination area and decontaminating mock patients.

The training provided by Pat Auger and Marcie Beaudoin was excellent.  Having participants from the local EMS and Fire Department join the hospital staff for this training was extremely beneficial.