During the exercise, the response to a group accident was rehearsed and a scene was set up where a bus and three passenger cars had collided and 24 people were injured.

A great preparation took place in the lead up to the exercise and HSN staff included professionals in the field of emergency nursing and ambulance transport, attended education by the Civil Protection Agency and participated in desk exercises where all responders gathered and reviewed the scenario and also practiced communication.

Around 200 people participated in the exercise, including a large number of employees from HSN in Blönduós and Sauðárkrókur. Nurses, doctors and other employees set up and operated a so-called “injured area”, which is an emergency room where victims of the accident are gathered for injury assessment and prioritized for ambulance transportation according to the nature and severity of the injury. Victims are then treated pending transportation to hospital, but ambulance workers from HSN were involved in transporting the injured.

Representatives from HSN went to the operations manager in Blönduós and also a consultant from HSN was assisted and reviewed the part that touched on the role of the agency. After the exercise there was a review meeting with all the responders where it was reviewed what was done well and what could have been done better. Everyone agreed on the merits of the exercise, that it went well and was an important part in ensuring a coordinated and well-trained response in the area when the situation arose.

The Healthcare Institution of North Iceland would like to take this opportunity to thank the other responders for their cooperation in the run-up to the exercise and in the exercise itself.