ABSTRACT
Preparedness for emergencies: strategies to increase the supply of beds and advanced intensive skills. Introduc-tion. The recent pandemic has highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness plans. In addition to techno-logical and structural resources, it is essential to have pro-fessionals with skills that allow them to safely work in in-tensive care areas. Aim. The aim of the contribution is to propose an intervention model to develop the skills of nurs-es of operatory theatres or intensive care to enable them to work safely in critical care settings. Methods. A plan was devised, involving a multiprofessional group to increase the number of beds in the intensive and semi-intensive care areas, as well as to train staff, hypothesising the activities to be reduced by moving staff to different areas. Results. The proposed organisational model could be implement-ed in other hospitals;it guarantees emergency prepared-ness and the expansion of the skills of the staff involved. Conclusions. Nursing staff with advanced skills should be readily available to safely guarantee the expansion of in-tensive care beds. The current division between intensive and semi-intensive settings could be revised in favour of a single critical care area.