Objective To summarize the experience of providing medical supplies for the medical rescue after the Wenchuan earthquake so as to provide information for similar tasks in the future.
Methods We collected and analyzed relevant data from the Medical Supply Group of the Headquarters for Earthquake Resistance and Disaster Relief.
Results ① The Medical Supply Group of the Headquarters for Earthquake Resistance and Disaster Relief was set up immediately after the quake. Professional software for the medical supply information management was developed to ensure the completeness and timeliness of relevant data. ② Within the first 3 days after the quake, 12 460 medical device parts were delivered to the disaster area, which effectively ensured the availability of medical supplies for the “golden 72 hours”. ③ A great amount of donated material from other provinces and overseas also arrived. These donations reached a peak 2 weeks after the quake. A total of 428 411 drug products, 196 504 medical device parts and 5 999.4 tons of disinfection material were successfully delivered to most of the quake-stricken areas within 24 hours after its delivery to Sichuan province. ④ Three months after the quake, the remaining 193 831 drug products, 96 423 medical device parts and 2 000 tons of disinfection material were disposed appropriately. A regional medical supply warehouse was established to reserve 129 895 drug products, 74 018.4 medical device part and 231.28 tons of disinfection material. On the 115th day after the quake, a portion of these reserves were allocated to the quake-hit areas in Panzhihua, Liangshan, and Yunnan province. ⑤ Nearly 20 tons of drug products, 10 tons of medical devices and 724.54 tons of disinfection materials were properly destroyed due to expiration or disqualification. ⑥ Based on the data collected during the disaster relief work, a series of articles were published.
Conclusion The medical supply work for the medical rescue after the Wenchuan earthquake was efficient, well-organized, transparent, and open.
Citation： XU Jiankang,DENG Xingguang,LI Hua,XIE Hua,LU Jie,LV Yan,ZHANG Lei,LI Youping,SHEN Ji. Ensuring Medical Supplies for the Medical Rescue after the Wenchuan Earthquake. Chinese Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2008, 08(11): 905-912. doi: 10.7507/1672-2531.20080200 Copy