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Tohoku University Hospital recently conducted a comprehensive disaster drill, running through the appropriate steps of receiving and treating victims in the event of a terrorist attack in Sendai.

The training exercise - done as part of the city's preparations for the 2020 Olympics - is based on a scenario that there had been an explosion of unknown substances at Sendai Station. It is the first CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive) disaster response training exercise undertaken by Tohoku University Hospital.

During the exercise, victims of the attack arrived by ambulance and were checked for radiation in a designated decontamination area. Staff then performed triage, sending the victims to different treatment areas based on the severity of their injuries.

Coordinating the flow of information and deployment of resources from mission control headquarters, were team leaders and hospital executives. In all, some 300 medicall staff and students participated in the exercise.

Speaking afterwards, Professor Tadashi Ishii, one of the organisers, said that he was pleased the drill went smoothly. "Today we mainly focused on information flow and team building, and how to help people after the establishment of a proper framework. It was very good, I thought."

As for areas that can be improved, Ishii said that it was sometimes difficult for people in mission control to understand the full extent of what was going on outside. "I think it is necessary to have some kind of TV monitor system so that we can see the scenes outside in real time, especially in the triage and decontamination area. If we can see what's happening out there, we can be better prepared in here to respond."

He added that "clear communication and rapid response is always very important during emergencies, and we want to keep finding ways to improve on that."