Nebil Achour

Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore UK healthcare resilience strategies, define gaps and provide suggestions based on international best practice.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a pluralistic qualitative research approach to achieve its purpose including: research papers, governmental and non‐governmental reports, code and guidance documents and databases. In addition, two case studies were visited in May 2009: the first was one of the major hospitals in the UK; and the second is a major health facility located at the south of Taiwan. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with the hospitals responsible and/or emergency officers to clarify the strategies setup to respond to emergencies.Findings – The results show that despite the “robust” emergency planning in the UK, many issues could have been avoided if international experience was reviewed carefully. This is due to the failure of not working closer with multi‐disciplinary experts, who provide technical and tactical hel...

Hospital resilience to natural hazards: classification and performance of utilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to: explore major and potential challenges facing healthcare facilities operation specifically those related to utility supplies; and quantify the impact of utility supplies interruption on the operation of healthcare facilities through the development of an estimation model. Design/methodology/approach – A pluralistic qualitative and quantitative research approach benefiting from an online computer program that applies the discriminant function analysis approach. Information was collected from 66 hospitals following three major earthquakes that struck northeast Japan in 2003. Findings – Analysis demonstrated that healthcare utilities face three major challenges: vulnerability of infrastructure to natural hazards; low performance of alternative sources; and lack of consideration of healthcare utility supplies in resilience codes and legislations. The study also proposed a method to estimate the impact of utility interruption of healthcare facilities. A model has been...

Engaging small firms in sustainable supply chains: responsible sourcing practices in the UK construction industry

Responsible sourcing (RS) provides a means to manage sustainability objectives by procuring materials with a certified provenance and is demonstrated typically through an organisation’s procurement policy, via purchasing decisions and practices. In the UK, the government requires that 25% of construction products shall be from RS schemes by 2012; major contractors are raising this target to 100% by 2015 for major commodities such as aggregates, metals, steel, concrete, bricks and glass. There is a lack of research on industry preparedness for RS, so this paper reports on an industry survey and interviews that set out to explore the scope of RS, its drivers, benefits and challenges. It shows that material suppliers are leading the way, and although specifiers, clients and major contractors can drive change in the supply chain, there is a problem with a lack of participation from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which warrants further research.

Healthcare emergency planning and management to major hazards in the UK

This study aims to examine the challenges and opportunities UK healthcare emergency planners and responders have to cope with major hazards. The study followed a qualitative research methodology where data was collected from a comprehensive literature review, an international workshop and interviews. The findings established that the UK healthcare emergency planning process needs to: consider the integration of soft and hard resources in planning; involve independent experts for further support; and use IT systems innovatively to develop a comprehensive emergency model, predict vulnerabilities and optimise effectiveness and efficiency. The major recommendations are to: identify and evaluate risks more accurately; enhance opportunities and reduce risks associated with multiagency approaches; ensure that soft and hard resources are well integrated in planning; involve and integrate more with independent parties such as academia for extra support; and innovatively use IT systems to develop a comprehensive emergency model, predict vulnerabilities and optimise operability.

Integration of resilience and sustainability: from theory to application

Purpose – This study aims to explore the challenges associated with the integration of resilience and sustainability, and propose a workable solution that ensures resilient and sustainable buildings. Recent research outcomes suggest that the number of natural hazards, both environmental and geophysical, will increase due to the effect of global warming. Various approaches have been investigated to reduce environmental degradation and to improve the physical resilience to natural hazards. However, most of these approaches are fragmented and when combined with cultural barriers, they often result into less-efficient assessment tools. Design/methodology/approach – The primary source of information used to develop this paper has been research publications, policy papers, reports and tool guidelines. A set of questions were developed to guide the review which was complemented with information distilled from the HFA 2005-2015 to develop an integration process to evaluate 10 international sustainability appraisa...

The perceptions of social responsibility for community resilience to flooding: the impact of past experience, age, gender and ethnicity

Community resilience to flooding depends, to a large extent, on the participation of community members to take more responsibility for enhancing their own resilience. The perception of social responsibility (SR) which is argued to be one of the antecedents influencing individual’s willingness to undertake resilient behaviours can significantly contribute to community resilience through individual and collective actions. Understanding of factors influencing the perceptions of SR of individuals within community might help with developing strategies to increase the perceptions of SR. This research explores perceptions of SR in relation to flooding for householders and local businesses and establishes their relationships with experience of flooding and demographic factors of age, gender and ethnicity. The data were obtained via a questionnaire survey of three communities in Birmingham and one community in South East London, UK, three with experience of flooding and one without. A total of 414 responses were received and used in the multiple regression analysis. The analysis identified ‘experience of flooding’, ‘age’ and ‘South Asian’ ethnic group as significant variables, suggesting that older individuals from South Asian ethnic groups with previous experience of flooding are likely to be more socially responsible than others without these attributes.

Learning lessons from the 2011 Van Earthquake to enhance healthcare surge capacity in Turkey

ABSTRACT Historically, Turkey has adopted a reactive approach to natural hazards which resulted in significant losses. However, following the 1999 Kocaeli Earthquake, a more proactive approach has been adopted. This study aims to explore the way this new approach operates on the ground. A multinational and multidisciplinary team conducted a field investigation following the 2011 Van Earthquake to identify lessons to inform healthcare emergency planning in Turkey and elsewhere. The team interviewed selected stakeholders including, healthcare emergency responders, search and rescue services, ambulance services, and health authority representatives, in addition to conducting a focus group. Data were analysed according to an open coding process and SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat) analysis. The findings suggest that the approach succeeded in developing a single vision by consolidating official efforts in a more structured way, mobilising many governmental and non-governmental organisations, securing significant amounts of resources including physical and human, and increasing the resilience and flexibility of infrastructure to expand its capacity. However, more attention is required to the development of stronger management procedures and acquisition of further resources.

Erratum: “Earthquake-Induced Structural and Nonstructural Damage in Hospitals” [Earthquake Spectra 27, 617–634 (2011)]

1. The first paragraph on page 624 should be replaced with the following text: As a result of this earthquake, the first “Hospital Seismic Safety Act” was developed (California Seismic Safety Commission 2001), with a focus on structural and nonstructural resistance (Meehan 1984); however, the 1994 Northridge Earthquake demonstrated that the Act was successful in protecting structures, but damage to nonstructural components, such as plumbing and ceiling systems, was still extensive in post-1973 buildings (California Seismic Safety Commission 2001). The Act was amended by Senate Bill 1953 after the Northridge Earthquake to require seismic evaluations; if hospitals were then found to have structural or nonstructural vulnerabilities, retrofits or replacements were also required. In essence, the legislation in California has been developed from lessons learned from previous experience and reflected the complexity of hospitals systems. There is a need, therefore, for other regions of the world that are threatened by earthquakes to develop and enforce hospital resilience legislation based in part on lessons learned from Iran, Algeria, Japan, Taiwan, California, and other regions.