Why medical needs belong in an emergency plan
On an ordinary day, 911 and the corner pharmacy cover almost everything. During a storm, flood or wide outage, both can be slowed at once: roads are blocked, crews are busy, pharmacies are closed or cannot reach their records.
The people at greatest risk are often not the ones who are injured. In British Columbia's 2021 heat dome there were 619 heat-related deaths, 98% of them indoors, and most were older adults living alone. A plan that includes checking on vulnerable relatives and neighbours does more good than most equipment.
Before: training, supplies and paperwork
Skills come first. A first aid and CPR course takes a day or two and makes every item in a kit more useful.
- Keep a real first aid kit at home and a smaller one in the car. Our First Aid Kit is drug-free by design, so add the over-the-counter medications your household actually uses, in their original packaging.
- For serious bleeding, a Bleed Control Kit with a tourniquet and pressure bandage is worth having if you learn how to use it.
- Talk to your pharmacist about keeping extra prescription medication on hand. A week's supply is a common starting point.
- Write a card for each person: conditions, medications and strengths, allergies, doctor, pharmacy, health card number.
- Pack spare glasses, hearing-aid batteries and any supplies a medical device needs.
- If someone depends on powered equipment, work out how long it must run and how you will power it. Ask your utility whether it keeps a list of customers with medical equipment.
During: 911 first, then what you can do
For any life-threatening problem, call 911, even if you expect a delay. The dispatcher can talk you through what to do until help arrives. If lines are down, send someone for help and do not leave the injured person alone if you can avoid it.
For heavy bleeding, press hard and directly on the wound with a clean dressing and keep the pressure on. Keep the person warm and still. Do not give food, drink or medication to someone who is drowsy or seriously hurt unless a dispatcher or clinician tells you to.
For everything less urgent, provincial health lines such as 811 can advise by phone when clinics are closed. In extreme heat or cold, check in person on older relatives and neighbours at least daily.
Common mistakes
A kit that has never been opened is the usual weak point.
- Buying equipment in place of training. A tourniquet applied by someone who has never practised is slow and often too loose.
- Letting supplies expire. Dressings, wipes and medications carry dates. Check them once a year.
- Storing medication in the car or garage. Heat and freezing spoil many medicines.
- Treating a power station as medical-grade backup. A portable power station can run a CPAP or charge equipment, but test it with your own device beforehand and keep a second plan, such as a place you can go that has power.
- Keeping the plan in one person's head. Write it down where the rest of the household can find it.