Surge capacity of curative sector healthcare institutions for the management of disasters following disease epidemic in sri lanka

Background The ability to obtain adequate staff, supplies, structures, and systems to provide sufficient care to meet the immediate needs of an influx of patients is defined as surge capacity. The research aimed to describe the surge capacity of curative-healthcare institutions for disaster management at disease endemic district of Sri Lanka. Methods From May to September 2019, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all curative-healthcare institutions (n=46) with inward-care facilities for patient care in the Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka. The ’Science of Surge Theory’ was used to develop an interviewer-administered tool. The medical administrator of the institution collected the data from a designated employee for disaster management in the institution. For the criteria of overall surge capacity for medical disaster management, the levels have been categorized as basic (26-50%), moderate (51-75%), and high (>75%). Results Response-rate was 93.5% (n=43). The higher proportion of the institutions had (55.8%; n=24), inadequate staff capacity, and lack of equipment. Of the equipped institutions, 13.3% (n=4), 38.7% (n=12), 40.9% (n=9), and 30.2% (n=13) had an adequate number of adjustable beds, infusion pumps, saturation monitors, and oxygen cylinders, respectively. The higher proportion of the institutions had designated emergency treatment units (90.7%; n=39). The least proportion of the institutions had X-ray services (11.6%, n=5), Ultrasound (USS) (9.3%; n=4) and blood bank services (9.3%; n=4). The higher proportion (69.8%; n=30) had inadequate overall surge capacity. The Provincial General Hospitals and 75% (n=3) of the Base-hospitals had moderate-level and higher proportion of the District Hospitals (76.3%; n=29) had basic level overall surge capacity for disaster management. Conclusion The overall surge capacity was inadequate and there is a need for improvement of surge capacity of the curative-healthcare institutions in the district for disease outbreak management. The capacity development programmes need to be initiated to improve the preparedness. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies for publication. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: N/A I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors