Coordinated medical service with new chief

The Coordinated Medical Service (KSD) has been integrated into the Federal Office for Civil Protection (Babs) as of January 1, 2023. It is part of the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), in which the competencies in incident management are expanded and bundled. By locating the KSD within this business unit, synergies with other areas and networks of emergency and crisis management will be exploited, the Babs writes.

Operational concepts for the partners of the medical service in the event of an incident

Within the framework of the reorientation of the KSD, the KSD Commissioner, together with the various partners of the Confederation, the cantons and in the health care system, is responsible for preparedness and coordination of the health care system in the event of an incident. To this end, he develops and manages the necessary coordination structures. Important work to be done includes, above all, the further development of preparedness concepts and crisis response plans for events involving mass casualties or patients.
Patients would have to be distributed among hospitals throughout Switzerland and additional capacities would have to be made available at short notice. Joint precautionary planning ensured that capacities were built up and known throughout Switzerland in this area, that work was carried out according to the same system, and that all partners in the healthcare system knew and perceived their role.
According to Babs, in addition to his function as KSD officer, Tenzin Lamdark will take over the management of the entire partner network division of the National Emergency Operations Center, which, in addition to the KSD office, also includes the NBC Protection office. In this way, synergies can be optimally exploited in the cooperation with the various partners.

Many years of experience in emergency and crisis management

Tenzin Lamdark is an FMH specialist in surgery with a focus on general surgery and traumatology. He worked as a surgeon and senior physician at the Winterthur Cantonal Hospital until 2022. In addition to medical knowledge, he also brings experience in emergency and crisis management, which are of great importance in the KSD's area of responsibility. According to information, he worked, among other things, on the disaster concept for the Gold Coast University Hospital on the occasion of the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Australia and on the crisis concept for the Cantonal Hospital Winterthur. In 2020, he was deployed to Winterthur Canton Hospital in pandemic management, the Babs further pointed out. In addition, Lamdark holds an executive MBA in general management and a CAS in crisis communications, he said. In military terms, Tenzin Lamdark is a general staff officer and chief of staff for logistics in the army.

Source: Federal Office for Civil Protection