The Orsan plan (French: plan Orsan, \pronounced as /plɑ̃ ɔʁ.san/\) is the emergency plan in France to face a sudden increase of activity in a hospital, such as a massive arrival of casualties due to an accident or a disaster (who may come by their own means to the emergency department or are evacuated by an Orsec-Novi plan), an epidemic or a lasting climatic event that becomes deadly for fragile people such as a heatwave.
It was created in 2014. "Orsan" stands for French: link=no|'''organisation de la réponse du système de santé en situations sanitaires exceptionnelles''', i.e. "organisation of the healthcare response system in exceptional public health situations".
It is a nationwide emergency plan that is the frame for the white plans (French: link=no|plans blancs, \pronounced as /plɑ̃ blɑ̃/\) that are locally developed for hospitals.
The Orsan plan has five sections:
The Orsan plan was activated for the first time for the seasonal influenza epidemic during winter 2014–2015 and a second time during the November 2015 Paris attacks. See: References
The French disaster white plans are the new trend for the SAMU national network and integrated EMS (IEMS) towards a modern medical sanitary civil defence. These sanitary disaster plans are mandatory and implemented by each public health agency, public or private, by a person chosen by the institution. The plan is submitted to the consultative and deliberative authorities of the institution (board of directors, medical committee, technical committee, hygiene, security and working conditions committee) and by regional public health authorities.
The scheme of the white plans for the French: [[département in France|département]] is made by the director of public health (French: directeur départemental des affaires sanitaires et sociales), with the technical collaboration of the SAMU (French emergency medical service) and the regional public health authority. public health white plans are integrated with comprehensive disaster plans (Orsec plan).
It is initiated by the medical regulator doctor decision of the SAMU who alerts public health authority for extension. SAMU sends on the first line of the site a SAMU command post and an advanced medical post for prehospital medical triaging. The SAMU implements a specific extension of its daily medical regulation task. Neighbouring SAMU and even national SAMU network and the Public Health Ministry are connected with the local organisation and bring assistance to the local organisation.
White plans can be initiated in a local prehospital, hospital site or air evacuation site or at regional or higher levels.
The actions performed by the white plans include:
In case of a contaminating event (nuclear, radiological, biological or chemical – NBC), the flow of incoming patients must be strictly controlled to avoid the contamination of the rest of the institution.
Terrorist acts are most likely to happen at the end of the afternoon, to benefit from the mass media coverage of the evening news (at 8 pm, "French: le 20h"). In this case, keeping the day shift allows to have two shifts at the same time when the evening shift arrives.