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Failure of medical care supply

If there is a failure of medical care supply, it is no longer possible to provide care in adequate conditions. This may be due, for example, to a shortage of care staff, infrastructure problems (cyber infrastructure) or a sudden increase in the number of people needing help.  

This page does not deal with problems caused by shortages of medicines. Find out more about failures in the supply of medical equipment.  

Causes

Consequences

What can you do?

BEFORE

  • Take a first aid course and regularly refresh your skills in this area. 
  • Keep a basic first aid kit in your emergency kit (at home, in the car, at the office) so that you can administer first aid yourself. Don't forget to regularly check the condition of the products and medicines in your basic medicine cabinet.  

DURING

  • In case of a life-threatening emergency, call 112. The operators will help you. If possible, use the 112.be app. It will quickly redirect you to the appropriate emergency services. 
  • Contact your GP to find out what to do if you have a health problem that is neither urgent nor vital.  
  • Avoid activities that pose a medical risk as much as possible. 
  • Are you unable to reach your GP? Call the on-call medical post at 1733. 

AFTER

No specific recommendations.

Impact and probability 

The figures relating to probability and impact describe a extreme failure in medical care provision. The BNRA theoretically describes such a scenario as follows: 

  • There has been a failure in public health for over a month, affecting vital and non-vital patient care.  
  • All hospitals are affected, with no possible alternatives. A large number of patients are therefore affected. 

How should you interpret these results? 

Within the BNRA, experts assessed three scenarios for each risk: considerable, major or extreme. On each page, you will find the results of the scenario with the highest score based on the combination of likelihood and impact. This does not mean that this scenario will occur or is the most likely. Read more here about how to correctly interpret the results. 

Probability

Weak

Human impact

Moderate

Societal impact

Weak

Environmental impact

No impact

Financial impact

Very weak

What do the authorities do? 

In Belgium, every hospital has a hospital emergency plan. This plan sets out the procedures to be followed to manage a massive influx of patients and/or keep the hospital running in the event of a failure in services. 

The FPS Public Health is responsible for hospitals in our country.