Evaluation of the preparedness of the healthcare system of Bulgaria in nuclear accidents

This paper describes the studies that were carried out to establish the available resources of the hospitals situated near to Bulgarian NPP 'Kozloduy' to perform medical treatment of casualties in mass radiation accidents. Special attention has been paid to evaluate the possibility to perform first aid and triage to the victims, radiation monitoring procedure and decontamination. The expert view on the sets of criteria for assessing the ability of hospitals to participate in emergency response is given. We also studied the awareness and training of medical staff. The results of the studies were taken into account in the last updating of the national emergency action plan for nuclear accident.

Keywords: mass casualties, radiation accidents, hospital preparedness, emergency response assessment, assessment criteria, education, practical training, Bulgaria, healthcare systems, nuclear accidents, nuclear power plants, NPP, first aid, triage, radiation monitoring, decontamination, national emergency action plans, emergency planning, disaster response, emergency management