The Trinidad and Tobago coup of July 1990: a surgeon's view - abstract
West Indian med. j
; West Indian med. j;40(suppl.1): 43, Apr. 1991.
Article
em En
| MedCarib
| ID: med-5565
Biblioteca responsável:
JM3.1
Localização: JM3.1; R18.W4
ABSTRACT
The Coup of July, 1990, was a unique disaster in Trinidad. It lasted six (6) days, most of the violent actions occurred in Port-of-Spain and resulted in an unprecedented number and variety of injuries being brought to the General Hospital, Port-of-Spain. This study examines the number and type of injuries seen, and the mortality and management aspects at the hospital during the diaster. Three doctors kept daily records of casualty attendance, admission, types of injuries, circumstances surrounding the injury and treatment. Over the 6 days, 560 patients were seen at the Accident and Emergency Department. Of these 302 were admitted, 250 were treated and discharged (of the 50 were coup-related), and 8 died. There were 187 surgical admissions of which 170 were coup-related and 107 injuries were due to gunshots. Of 231 persons injured as a result of the coup, 133 (58 percent) were looters. Extraordinary efforts were required to cope with the overwhelming demands on the staff and hospital facilities. The unique nature of the calamity exposed areas of weakness in our disaster plan. Special circumstances such as the curfew and catering for large numbers of staff over a prolonged period needed specific attention. Effective comunication between the disaster area and health care facilities has to be established. Hospital specialist should participate in the planning for such a disaster (AU)
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MedCarib
Assunto principal:
Violência
/
Ferimentos e Lesões
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Caribe ingles
/
Trinidad y tobago
Idioma:
En
Revista:
West Indian med. j
Ano de publicação:
1991
Tipo de documento:
Article
/
Congress and conference