The Trawalla Incident: examination of a code brown response.

Abstract

In 2006 a semitrailer collided with a Melbourne bound train west of Ballarat which resulted in forty-one casualties. Of these, two died on impact, one was flown directly to Melbourne, and the 38 remaining casualities were sent to Ballarat Health Services. The presentation highlighted the insufficencies and requirements of an all agencies approach to disaster response and management. The main areas of examination were: first responder response highlighting emergency management principles and the impact of first responder activity on the subsequent Ballarat Health Service response; the impact of other agencies such as the Municipal response, and the Victorian Dept of Human Services; Ballarat Health Service response from the clinicians response to executive management and examining some of the key learnings and emerging issues that all health services may face in a Code Brown inclident, and finally how this incident was used as an opportunity for improvement.