Active shooter in emergency departments in Guanajuato State, Mexico.
Emerg Med J
; 41(8): 495-499, 2024 Jul 22.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38811145
ABSTRACT
Mass violence events, especially in healthcare settings, have devastating consequences and long-lasting effects on the victims and the community. The rate of violent events in Mexico, especially in hospital settings, has increased since 2006, but has become more evident in 2018. Guanajuato State, located in central Mexico, is among the states most affected by the wave of violence, especially active shooter events. The year 2019 had the highest number of incidents. Therefore, the Silver Code and the components of Safe Hospitals, in accordance with the Hartford consensus and PAHO guidelines, were implemented in the hospitals of the Institute of Public Health of the State of Guanajuato, with a focus on the actions of healthcare personnel to prevent collateral damage. Although subsequently there were still fatalities and injuries in the events involving active shooters in the hospitals, there were no casualties among healthcare personnel, according to data from the Institute of Public Health, Guanajuato State. This paper presents information from the data from General Directorate of Epidemiology to describe the hospital mass violence situation in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico and recounts the step taken to effectively manage and prevent these situations moving forward. Specific recommendations based on international consensus and our experience provided include increasing the level of security checks for people entering the hospital premises, training healthcare personnel on violence-related preparedness and improving management of active shooter events consistent with published evidence, to reduce the possibility of casualties.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Emergency Service, Hospital
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Mexico
Language:
En
Journal:
Emerg Med J
Journal subject:
MEDICINA DE EMERGENCIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Country of publication: