Mobilisation of emergency services for chemical incidents in Sweden - a multi-agency focus group study

Abstract Background In chemical incidents, infrequent but potentially disastrous, the World Health Organization calls for inter-organizational coordination of actors involved. Multi-organizational studies response capacities are scarce. We aimed to describe incident experiences and perceptions Swedish fire rescue services, emergency medical police dispatch services personnel. Methods Eight service organizations in two distinct dissimilar regions Sweden participated one organization-specific focus group interview each. The total number respondents was 25 (7 females 18 males). A qualitative inductive content analysis performed. Results Three types information processing were derived as emerging during acute-phase mobilization: Unspecified (a caller communicating with an dispatcher), specified (each obtaining expert information), aligned (continually updated from scene condensed disseminated back all parties at scene). Improvable shortcomings identified, e.g. randomness (unspecified processing), reticence (specified downprioritizing central transmission while saving lives (aligned processing). Conclusions flow may be improved by automation, public education, revised dispatcher use technical resources field. Future should independently assess these mechanism’s degree impact on mobilisation incidents.