In a first for India, the World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated a Training of Trainers
(TOT) Programme for Emergency Units Preparedness and Response at the All India Institute
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma center in New Delhi. The WHO Academy Mass
Casualty Management (MCM) programme aims to equip frontline healthcare workers,
including doctors, nurses, logistics personnel, and technicians, with the skills needed to
manage mass casualty events.
Professor Kamran Farooque, Chief of JPNATC at the AIIMS trauma center, explained the
significance of the programme, noting that it is a WHO-patented mass casualty course. “This
course will be vital during situations like mass casualty events, enabling hospitals to handle
such crises and save as many lives as possible. The team conducting the training has
extensive experience from countries such as Somalia and Iraq, among others,” he said. He
further added that the vision is for the faculty trained at AIIMS to disseminate this knowledge
across hospitals and medical institutions throughout India.
The five-day course includes three days of instruction and two days of training. Faculty
members from other AIIMS locations, including AIIMS Jodhpur, Patna, and Jammu, are also
participating.
Dr. Harald Veen, Course Lead for the WHO Mass Casualty Management Course, elaborated
on the challenging decisions that must be made during mass casualty events. “It’s not feasible
to treat every patient in life-threatening situations. In such circumstances, resources need to
be prioritized for those who need them most. This course has been developed with input from
an international team of experts to ensure that hospitals can effectively manage mass
casualties and maximize the use of available resources,” he said.
Ali Mehdi, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon and Medical Director at Kent and Canterbury
Hospital, UK, expressed that saving even one life is a major achievement. “This is a
significant milestone not just for AIIMS, but for India as a whole,” he remarked.
According to WHO, once participants complete the MCM course, they should be capable of
evaluating local situations and adopting an “all hazards” approach for effective mass casualty
management, helping hospitals better prepare for critical situations where large numbers of
people need treatment at the same time.
