[Identification and assessment of the potential errors in relief and rescue operations in road accidents]

ABSTRACT

Due to the high rate of road accidents in Iran, rescue and relief operations in road are important in health system. Applying some techniques in order to reduce failure in these processes will lead to an increased quality of services; also cost reduction and health improvement will be some consequences. Some of the main Safety Management System elements including hazards and risk identification, assessment, and control them. This paper aimed to determine the optimal processes and relief and rescue operations in roads and also to assess and analyze the failure of this filed; and finally provide some solutions to reduce them. In this applicable and qualitative study, it was used of Health Care Failure Mode and Effect Analysis [HFMEA] in order to identify and analyze the potential errors and failure in relief and rescue operations in road accidents. The relief and rescue operations in road accidents were divided into two processes, 12 sub-processors, and also 53 activities. Each activity probable errors and failures was analyzed and identified; a total of 147 errors were determined and analyzed in both processes and their potential reasons were investigated. Among identified errors, 48 percent were related to manpower; 24 percent equipment malfunction; 11 percent method and process, and the rest was related to other cases such as system, environment, etc based on the results. The issues raised in the article can preserve basic information for future safety studies in relief and rescue operations in road accidents; provide preventive measures and also minimize the likelihood of errors and their consequences