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EDITOR – I have read with great interest the letter by Edwards AG, et al (1). In Greece there is also a great deficiency in the training of the medical students and staff concerning their role in a possible terrorist attack. On 11 September 2001 I was serving the Greek army as a doctor at a battery, and I was asked to prepare a lecture for the military staff on preventive measures against biochemical war. As I had not received any special training myself during my university years, I felt desperate at the beginning. Fortunately, the army headquarters provided me with an information pack fairly soon, which I had to study before I can give my lecture. Even so, my lecture was only theoretical and I could not answer any practical questions.
Almost 2 years after September 2001, I still have not found any training programme for physicians that I can attend. Browsing the Greek sites on the internet, I could only find citations of various Greek politicians suggesting measures, which the Greek government plans to take during the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. However, there is no reference regarding the education of the medical staff or the public in general. Moreover, the public opinion in Greece considers the possibility of a terrorist attack quite improbable, and the Greek media have not consistently provided any guidelines to prepare the Greeks for such a possibility.
Greek medical staff not trained for terrorist attack possibility
EDITOR – I have read with great interest the letter by Edwards AG, et al (1). In Greece there is also a great deficiency in the training of the medical students and staff concerning their role in a possible terrorist attack. On 11 September 2001 I was serving the Greek army as a doctor at a battery, and I was asked to prepare a lecture for the military staff on preventive measures against biochemical war. As I had not received any special training myself during my university years, I felt desperate at the beginning. Fortunately, the army headquarters provided me with an information pack fairly soon, which I had to study before I can give my lecture. Even so, my lecture was only theoretical and I could not answer any practical questions.
Almost 2 years after September 2001, I still have not found any training programme for physicians that I can attend. Browsing the Greek sites on the internet, I could only find citations of various Greek politicians suggesting measures, which the Greek government plans to take during the Olympic Games of Athens in 2004. However, there is no reference regarding the education of the medical staff or the public in general. Moreover, the public opinion in Greece considers the possibility of a terrorist attack quite improbable, and the Greek media have not consistently provided any guidelines to prepare the Greeks for such a possibility.
Christos Zavos, MD
E-mail: czavos@hotmail.com
References:
1. Edwards AG, Donaldson O, Walsh E, Karantana A. Medical staff need to be aware of major incident planning. BMJ 2003;326:762.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests