Functional Safety Status in Isfahan Private Hospitals in Response to Disasters in 2015

Background: Hospital safety is of great social importance in various aspects, including functional safety. If hospitals fail to response appropriately to a disaster or protect people against the risks resulting from natural and man-made disasters, people feel insecure and society loses the stability. The present article aims to evaluate the functional safety status of hospitals in disasters. Materials and Methods: This research is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2015. The study population consisted of all private hospitals in Isfahan and the sampling method was census. In this study, WHO Hospital Safety Index checklist, which is used for vulnerability assessment, was used as the research tool and data analysis was done by Excel. Results: According to the results, the mean functional safety of Isfahan private hospitals were 1.63 for “organizing hospital emergency/disaster committee,” 1.2 for “action plan to respond to internal and external risks,” 0.5 for “contingency plans of medical operations,” 1.62 for “access to operational plans of preserving and restoring vital services,” and 0.8 for “access to medicines, equipment and supplies needed in emergency situations.” Overall, the functional safety of hospitals was moderate. Conclusion: The present study showed that the current status of functional safety in Isfahan private hospitals is not completely satisfactory and the provincial health managers, especially Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, are expected to regularly monitor planning and decision-making about the risks threatening these hospitals, especially in the areas of contingency plans of medical operations and access to medicines as well as equipment and supplies needed in an emergency situation.