Managing major incidents 2012

Lessons from the Otoya Shootings and Oslo Bombing Dr Solid, a Consultant in the Norwegian Ambulance and Dean of the Norwegian Air Ambulance Academy gave the keynote address; a candid and moving personal account of the tragic events that affected Norway in July 2011, claiming 77 lives. He described the difficulties faced and lessons learnt from dealing with the two sequential terrorist attacks; the bombing in Oslo and shootings on Utoya Island. Oslo saw in excess of 70 ambulances dispatched and 4 HEMS crews. He described the difficulties in establishing triage points, with the novel use of buses in Oslo as a holding point for casualties with minor injuries. He spoke of the challenges of working in an unpredictable, high-pressured environment without adequate protective measures available for those providing medical aid. He identified the familiar constraints of a ongoing incident, namely limited resources (notably stretchers) and intermittent unpredictable communication (whilst advocating the Tetra system that was used on Utoya Island). Dr Solid recognised the essential role of HEMS as a transport resource, the need for a closed air space at the earliest opportunity, and the benefit of a national response protocol to any anticipated major incident.