ISSUE 25(2), 2013 AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND SOCIAL WORK PAGE 69 Social work disaster emergency response within a hospital setting Penny Maher and Jane Maidment Penny Maher is a Clinical Manager of Social Work at Christchurch Hospital. Jane Maidment is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Human Services and Social Work, University of Canterbury. Abstract This article outlines the social work contribution to a series of post-disaster emergency response interventions occurring in the Canterbury region between 2007 and 2012. While the earthquakes of September 4th 2010 and February 22nd 2011 provide the major focus for discussing the tasks and processes involved in emergency response interventions, an earlier critical incident involving a large number of youth prompted the development of the emergency response protocols. These protocols are discussed in light of the social work response to the Canterbury earthquakes. The challenges encountered through working in a rapidly changing physical and professional context are outlined including a discussion about the application of diverse forms of debriefng. New learning for social work practice derived out of engagement with emergency response work is summarised. Developing an emergency response New Zealand has had its share of catastrophic events, including natural disasters, major mining accidents and fatalities arising from extreme sporting activities (‘Worst Mining Disaster’, 2012; ‘11 Dead in Hot Air Balloon Tragedy’, 2012). As such, social work services within hospital settings need to be prepared to respond efectively to a diverse range of crisis situations. The Social Work Service at Christchurch Hospital is recognised as an important part of the trauma response work in the Emergency Department (ED) of the hospital. So- cial work has a seven-day-a-week presence in the ED and is available on call after-hours. After-hours on-call service provision has been made available within the hospital for the past 10 years. Social workers, experienced in working in the ED have developed a training package for colleagues before they are required to work on call. This training includes a familiarisation with the environment and procedures used when working in the ED and an overview of the theories that underpin trauma response. Practitioners on call for the frst time are ofered the opportunity to request assistance from a designated ED team social worker to accompany them to their frst after-hours call back to the hospital. In addition to the after-hours on-call service, where social workers usually work alone, an Emergency Response Team was formed in 2007. The concept for this team evolved out of a specifc incident from an after-hours call back to a multiple trauma involving a large number of youths struck by a car outside a party. There were six critically injured youths and many others sustained lesser injuries. A crowd of approximately 250 youths began to arrive at the hospital within minutes of the accident occurring. On this particular night the on-call social worker was on duty for the frst time and requested assistance. During the debriefng