Navigating Hospital Operations Through Simulation: A Study Of Urban Flooding Disasters And Physical Damage Impact

This paper presents a discrete-event simulation model of an entire hospital to investigate the impact of urban flooding disasters, specifically focusing on physical damage to the hospital building and its implications for patient care. A novel patient-centred health utility function is introduced to assess patient outcomes and inform patient prioritisation decisions. The model is used to simulate a two-wave disaster scenario: the initial wave represents physically injured patients due to the flooding, while the second wave captures patients with flood-related infections. Additionally, this paper experiments with strategies and policies to respond effectively to the disaster and enhance resilience. Preliminary results demonstrate the model's ability to evaluate hospital resilience and balance the needs of disaster victims and routine patients. This work is intended to lay the foundation for data-driven disaster preparedness and response planning