Trauma following Major Disasters: The Role of the Occupational Therapist

The tragic loss of over 900 lives on the ferry Estonia in the Baltic Sea brought back many painful and bitter memories of similar disasters, such as Zeebrugger, the Marchioness and Piper Alpha, together with other disasters of a similar magnitude, such as Lockerble, the Bradford fire, Hillsborough, Clapham Common, Hungerford and the King's Cross fire, which are still in the minds of the public. Such well publicised disasters refocused attention on how society is ill-prepared and uncoordinated in the provision of sufficient and effective coping strategies. They raised awareness, and assisted both statutory and non-statutory bodies in focusing on the need to establish a collaborative and coordinated approach to deal with major disasters.