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Evacuation priority — DIPIMC MCQ

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HardMajor Incident ManagementEvacuation priorityDIPIMCDipIMC

Casualties at a major incident have been triaged and treatment has begun. Transport assets are limited, and you must decide the order of evacuation to definitive care. Which principle should generally guide the order in which casualties are moved?

Educational content. Not a substitute for clinical judgement or local policy.

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Correct answer: E — Evacuate Priority 1 (immediate) casualties first

Evacuation generally prioritises Priority 1 (immediate) casualties who most need time-critical hospital care, while matching each casualty to a facility able to meet their needs and avoiding overwhelming the nearest hospital. Moving delayed casualties or working purely by order of discovery wastes scarce transport on lower-acuity patients. Age is not the sole determinant. Pearl: distribute casualties across hospitals so that no single receiving unit is saturated, a process sometimes coordinated by an ambulance loading officer.

Reference: MIMMS; NHS England Major Incident Triage Tools