Mary Kay McCarthy, G20 Incident Manager at TWH and Clinical Director, Ed/Gim and Palliative Care at TGH and TWH, was very impressed by the comprehensive planning that was done in the event of a Code Orange. What was even more impressive was the staff at TWH who rose to the occasion, preparing months ahead of the G20 weekend.
TWH was designated as the back-up trauma centre and was well prepared to accomodate an influx of patients by ensuring that extra beds, nurses, surgeons and physicians were available for the G20 weekend. The excellent collaboration between the emergency department, clinical teams and administrators enabled TWH to be well equipped in case of a disaster.
Doug Shiozaki, the G20 Logistics Chief and Director of Facilities Support at TWH, identified Local Health Integrated Networks (LHIN) to be the primary source for G20 information. While public media outlets broadcasted frequent updates on G20 events, the hospital needed to make decisions based on a more reliable source.
The LHIN received information directly from the police which was then communicated to hospitals. As Logistics Chief, Doug recognized that internal schedules had to allow time for breaks. With such an unpredictable event like the G20, people need to be energized and focused. Overall, TWH was very pleased with the preparations and with the staff.
