National Health Service incidents

Approximately a third of stroke survivors are functionally dependent at one year and stroke is the commonest cause of neurological disability in the developed world (Murray and Lopez 1996 MacDonald et al. 2000). Stroke also causes secondary medical problems, including dementia, depression, epilepsy, falls and fractures. In the UK, the costs of stroke are estimated to be nearly twice those of coronary heart disease (British Heart Foundation Statistics Database 1998 Rothwell 2001), accounting for about 6% of total National Health Service (NHS) and Social Services expenditure (Rothwell 2001). As the population ages over the coming two decades, the total stroke rate will probably increase unless there are substantial decreases in age- and sex-specific incidence (Rothwell et al. 2004a). Stroke deaths are projected to increase from 4.5 million worldwide in 1990 to 7.7 million in 2020, when stroke will account for 6.2% of the total burden of illness (Bonita 1992 Sudlow and Warlow 1997 Menken et al. 2000). 

The UK National Health Service definition can be found on the website http //www.npsa.nhs.uk/nrls/reporting/what-is-a-patient-safety-incident/. While the trend to include potentially harmful events is understandable, it is also rather unfortunate because the reporting of such events depends on how people have judged a situation rather than on what actually happened. 

Responsibilities of the National Health Service (NHS) in the event of a terrorist incident include ... 

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) within the Department of Health and Human Services compiles data on toxic substances incidents during transport and at fixed facilities. The result is the National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP). It produces an annual report of incidents, mainly involving chemical spills. 

Personal Protective Equipment for Hazardous Materials Incidents A Selection Guide U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health October 1984. 

March Referring to a 1983 incident. United Nations (UN) document S/16433 concludes that chemical weapons had been used during the ongoing Iran-Iraq War. September The Rajneeshee cult spreads Salmonella enteritica serotype typhimurium at restaurants in The Dalles, Oregon, causing more than 700 to become ill no fatalities result. A U.S. Public Health Service official subsequently declares the incident the result of poor hygiene. 

ESF 8—Public Health and Medical Services Provides the mechanism for coordinated federal assistance in response to public health and medical care needs for potential or actual Incidents of National Significance or during a developing potential health and medical situation. HHS is the ESF 8 coordinator. 

Burn Centers Are a Unique National Resource. Given the unique nature of burn care and the nationwide availability of highly specialized burn care systems established to address the complex nature of burn injuries, burn centers have been specifically recognized in federal bioterrorism legislation, with subsequent action of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to incorporate burn centers in state and local disaster plans. Furthermore, although most burn surgeons have the expertise and training to treat burn—as well as trauma— victims in the event of a mass casualty, the reverse is not necessarily so, which supports the need for unique benchmarks to ensure that the needs of the burn-injured are met in the event of a terrorist incident. 

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