By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
If you’ve ever been at Northumberland Hills Hospital and heard the announcement of a colour code from the overhead speakers, you may have wondered what that was all about.
In fact, there are a whole rainbow of colour codes for a wide range of contingencies, and Vice-President of People, Culture and Organizational Effectiveness Lola Obomighie went through the whole palette at the October NHH board meeting.
“This is a very crucial aspect of health care at all levels,” Obomighie said.
The system kicks in with the notification of an event that requires some action, followed by standardized emergency colour codes that communicate internally what is happening. Everyone understands what each code means and what actions to take.
Notification comes when someone dials 5-5-5-5 on the hospital code phone.
“It’s answered in under two rings,” Obomighie said.
They will ask your location and the type of emergency, then will issue the applicable code and dispatch the appropriate help.
While every type of code has its own associated actions, she added, each involves staying calm, listening for instructions, moving where directed without stopping to gather personal belongings, and helping others if possible.
Each colour code means something different and has a set of actions.
Brown – Hazardous spill (whether confirmed or suspected) – Stay away from the spill, secure the area, inform the appropriate leader and wait for the response team.
Red – Fire – The response is the acronym REACT: Remove people in any danger, Ensure doors and windows are closed, Activate the alarm, Call 5-5-5-5 and Try to extinguish (or else evacuate)
Black – Bomb threat or suspicious package – Remain calm, stop to listen and watch for anything suspicious, report anything suspicious and do not touch the item.
Purple – Hostage taking – There are two sets of actions for this one. If you are the hostage, remain calm and be patient, be friendly and co-operative, note details to describe the captor later, only attempt an escape if you can make it, and get down if you hear police or other noise. If you see a hostage taking, remain calm, remove yourself and others from the area, and follow directions.
Silver – Armed person or weapon – Remain calm, call 9-9-1-1 (and if you can’t talk, leave the phone on), find a secure hiding place, stay out of view, stay quiet, turn off electronic devices and fight only if it’s safe to do so.
Grey – Infrastructure loss or failure – Listen to the overhead announcement for instructions.
There are other codes with no fixed response required:
White – Violent behaviour
Green – Evacuation (There’s also Green Stat for a crisis evacuation)
Yellow – Missing person (with amber for a missing or abducted child)
Orange – Disaster (There’s also Orange CBRN for a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear disaster)
Blue – Cardiological or other medical emergency for an adult
Pink – Cardiological or other medical emergency for a child
Obomighie recalled a recent drill for a Code Purple, saying drills are scheduled regularly. Each is a chance to review, take advantage of lessons learned and identify opportunities for improvement.
President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Walsh noted that, on a larger stage, NHH sometimes participates in county-wide mock-emergency drills.
She also said that this kind of preparedness is one of the criteria for the hospital’s accreditation, and that they scored quite high on the most recent one.
