STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ARRIVAL PATTERNS ON AN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT’S CAPACITY USING DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION

The increased volume in demand for medical assistance, and the severity and diversity of injuries sustained among those affected by a disaster, can easily overwhelm limited resources available at hospital emergency departments (EDs) when providing care to victims affected by a disaster. In order to meet this sudden surge in demand involving huge uncertainties and complexities, EDs need to be better prepared and more efficient. This paper looks at the creation and use of discrete event simulation modeling using ARENA 10.0 software. In this paper, an attempt is made to show how the different arrival patterns and time durations in which victims are arriving affect on ED’s ability to treat patients during a conventional terrorist bombing attack. The bombing attack scenario will include open- air bombing and confined or closed-space bombing. It will also show how the model can be used to estimate additional resources that would be required to accommodate additional patients within the ED