To the
participants in the
REQUIREMENTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
28 May 1983
In the late morning of
Saturday, 28 May, John Paul II received in audience in the Clementine Hall approximately
five hundred doctors and experts from various nations who took part in the
Following this
greeting, John Paul II delivered the following discourse.
1.I am happy about this meeting, which offers me the
opportunity to greet you cordially, distinguished gentlemen, who have come to
The
scope of the International Society of Emergency Medicine is to promote and
coordinate on an international level, along with other worthy organisms, a
common operational programme in view of an optimum use of means and methods of
emergency health assistance. In
addition, it proposes to encourage research relative to the treatment of mass
injuries. In fact, emergency medicine is
destined for the collectivity of the stricken and, as
such, involves criteria, instruments, and methods, both for prevention and
intervention, which are completely special.
It
is well understandable that the Church looks with interest on such a complex
and important sector of aid. Seeing in
Christ's concern for the sick (cf. Mt
Extraordinary
possibilities of aid
2.The technological progress of our times has not brought with it only
positive aspects; not rarely we are witnesses and victims of catastrophes
provoked or aggravated by the very intervention of man, who today has at his
disposal means of unheard-of destructive power.
It is for this reason that the so-called natural catastrophes are
accompanied by disasters provoked by man.
Modern technology also offers, however, extraordinary possibilities of
aid. Emergency medicine, which is called to study the causes and effects of
catastrophes, to involve and apply experiences confirmed as being valid, and to
come up with ever more updated techniques, is addressed to these possibilities.
Without doubt, a grave limitation on the intervention of emergency
medicine is marked by the essence of catastrophe, in fact, where this leaves a
peripheral area of the disaster intact and accessible, the intervention of the
appropriate medicine will be easier and more effective. In any case, emergency
being the sign and the prerogative of emergency medicine, it must never give
up, whatever the limits of available space, personnel and means.
Elementary techniques, even old ones, may prove to be decisive if
immediately made ready, rationally applied and, above all, if they are able to
involve in a orderly way the greatest number of adequate forces, even though
the extraordinary circumstances find for the most part unprepared the very
organizations that are designed to meet them and it is necessary to face the
requirements with intelligence, speed and suitable remedies.
In
addition, the most recent natural catastrophes have also brought to light the
necessity for a territory's policy, whose promoter emergency medicine must
become, precisely because such policy is part of that prevention which is one
of the tasks of emergency medicine itself. In fact, prevention allows greater
participation in this field and, at the same time, helps to effect
a general sensitivity, which is a valuable premise for the defence of man and
the community.
Then
there is another aspect which emergency medicine must make its concern. A catastrophe often provokes an unpleasant
tension between the generosity of the intervention and its rational
application, indispensable elements which, however, can be mutually harmful
because of the upset which the catastrophe causes. This is why emergency medicine requires
careful coordination of forces, intelligent and pragmatic use of resources, and
a clear view of priorities. Always when
there is a disproportion between the misfortune to be remedied and the means
available to confront it, the awareness of what is unrelinquishable
must be clear.
Area of prevention
3.The International Society of Emergency Medicine is a
world-wide organization. There is no one
who does not see what advantages are offered, on an operative level, by an ever
more generous cooperation of all existing forces. From this follows the necessity for a
strengthening of the national and international organizations which work for
mutual assistance. In this respect, much
must be done to overcome ideological barriers, political prejudices, hidden or
obvious commercial interests. Where pain
reminds us of the substantial equality of the human condition, the appeal for
reciprocal aid must be able to prevail, being transformed into a uniting
element capable of developing new solidarities.
In
particular, it will be necessary to be committed in the area of
prevention. In fact, there are periodic
catastrophes which seem to strike with punctual and dramatic regularity certain
geographical areas of the earth.
Moreover, it has been historically demonstrated that the weakest peoples
are those who are more greatly exposed, so that their plea for help is a
constant fact which cannot be blamelessly ignored. An appeal is therefore made to the more
affluent countries, to international organizations, to large industries, to
those who have the greatest means. Economic
objectives cannot be exclusive.
The
task of emergency medicine responds to an increasingly felt need of
mankind. The progress of our times
allows you to respond in more timely and effective ways. Men or societies who fail to prepare adequate
defences against the calamities which, inevitably or through their own fault,
afflict them cannot be called capable of authentic progress.
Faith contributes
4.Finally, since man is both body and spirit, it seems quite
clear what an important contribution faith can make even in your field, both on
the level of increasing sensitivity and on the level of intervention itself.
Catastrophes always present both wounds that can be healed and those
which cannot. Both involve not only
those who are directly stricken, but their families, their surroundings, their
means, everything. Disaster strikes its
victims at the deepest roots of their being, and it is not surprising if among
those stricken by disaster the need to call upon God as a supreme refuge in situations
of extreme difficulty is more lively manifested.
Emergency medicine, within whose province is the most urgent, massive
intervention, cannot ignore this aspect but must be open to collaboration with
those who, although aware of not being able to heal completely the wounds
caused by catastrophe, seek to alleviate them with the comfort of faith, with
the reminder of eternal life and the hope which extends beyond death. Such collaboration - as facts demonstrate -
can prove to be valuable. Science and
awareness, material means and spiritual resources are undeniable suppositions
for an effective emergency medicine which wishes to take into consideration the
whole truth of the human being.
In
hoping, distinguished gentlemen, that this modern branch of medicine may enjoy
a growing affirmation as one of the most noble expressions of today's human and
civil progress, I invoke constant divine assistance upon you and your activity
and I give you my heartfelt blessing.