Medical incident commander leadership during a full-scale exercise in an underground mining environment: a qualitative single-case study
by Lina Gyllencreutz; Sophia Mårtensson; Britt-Inger Saveman
International Journal of Emergency Management (IJEM), Vol. 17, No. 1, 2021

Abstract: Swedish underground mines are constantly improving their safety. However, major incidents still occur, and the extreme environment poses challenges during rescue operations. The aim of this study was to evaluate prehospital medical management during a full-scale exercise in an underground mine in order to gain knowledge on the leadership and decision-making of the medical incident commander. We used a qualitative single-case study design following a full-scale exercise that included emergency medical services (EMSs), rescue services, and a mining company. The exercise was documented through on-site observation notes, audio recordings, and video recordings, all of which were written out as text and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that few decisions were made, and without all available medical information, and that they were made by others than the medical incident commander. This resulted in a delay in decision-making, in vital treatment, and in transport of patients from the site. Clearer leadership and more active decisions might have resulted in a different outcome for the injured parties.

Online publication date: Fri, 05-Nov-2021

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Emergency Management (IJEM):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com