Medical Support In Chemical Operations

General Medical operations in a CW environment will be complex. In addition to providing care in protected environments or while dressed in protective clothing, medical personnel will have to treat chemically injured and contaminated casualties, sometimes in large numbers. A mass-casualty situation occurs whenever the numbers or type of casualty exceeds the capabilities of the unit to treat and manage them in a normal fashion. An erroneous reaction to such a possibility is to assume that the problem is too great to cope with and preparations would be futile. Rather, the success of the medical department functioning effectively in a chemical war and treating successfully the maximum number of casualties will directly relate to the efforts made in advance to prepare for the possibility. The doctrine, organisation and equipment available to handle chemical casualties will vary between countries and most particularly between Services, because of differences in military operational requirements. However, whatever the system, there will be a common set of problems that must be addressed in the management of chemical casualties the clinical condition of the casualty will be the same or similar regardless of which Service he or she is a member, and because of similarities in the environment in which the casualty must be treated.