Facilities - Emergency Planning

The following is an extract from: PP (01) 087: MAJOR INCIDENT PLAN - GENERAL PRINCIPLES, POLICY AND PROCESS (to view PP (01) 087 in Word form, click here)

FOREWORD

This Policy describes the Trust's understanding of definitions around Major Incident and Emergency Planning. It is designed to be the starting point for the work of the Emergency Planning Team and to give an overview of the generic arrangements for dealing with Major Incidents affecting the Trust. It is updated on an annual basis, using information gathered from various sources - Government reference documents; Cabinet Office advice; Reports from internal testing and training; Debrief notes from incidents; locally generated vulnerability risk assessments; Advice from local partner agencies.

The Policy is supported by systems of Action Cards for key personnel; departmental plans; specific incident plans; scheduled training and testing of controlled areas.

The work of the Emergency Planning Team is channelled through the Trust Management Team to the Trust board whenever there are organisational or operational risks identified that need board level decisions to be made.

A copy of this Policy is made available to all key players and managers in the Trust, the relevant PCTs, the Health Emergency Planning Adviser at Strategic Health Authority and other partner agencies in the region. A copy is also made available on the hospital intranet.

Chris Bown (Chief Executive)

PURPOSE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING

The purpose of planning for emergencies in the Trust is to ensure preparedness for an effective response to any Major Incident resulting in abnormal demand upon Healthcare services.

A widely accepted definition of a Major Incident is “an emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services”. Within this definition each of the emergency services must determine what constitutes a Major Incident in the light of its own responsibilities. For the West Suffolk Hospitals Trust (WSHT), a Major Incident is defined as, “any occurrence which presents a serious threat to the health of the Community, disruption to the service or causes (or is likely to cause) such numbers or types of casualties as to require special arrangements to be implemented by the Trust”.

The West Suffolk Hospital is designated as a receiving hospital for casualties from Major Incidents. It is not, normally, expected to dispatch a mobile team into the 'field'. This arrangement has been agreed in liaison with Emergency Planning Officer for East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust.

The West Suffolk Hospital is not a nominated NAIR hospital (National Arrangements for Incidents involving Radioactivity) but may receive patients in extenuating circumstances as management of life-threatening injuries can override any decontamination procedures. Nuclear decontamination procedures are similar to chemical incidents, although different methods of detection and segregation are necessary (clean/dirty/closed areas). The Major Incident procedure should be instigated in all cases of nuclear origin, as closure of facilities may be required.

Instructions for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear incidents are held and updated locally by A&E department. Contact numbers that allow access to Reserve National Stocks of equipment and treatment pods (see 6.9) are held in the Hospital Control Centre.

Overall responsibility for Major Incident and Service Continuity Planning lies with the Chief Executive, who has appointed the Director of Modernisation to lead the planning in this regard. An Emergency Planning Team (EPT) deals with operational issues, assessing vulnerability, testing, training and review of plans. The EPT makes recommendations through the Organisational risk Committee on issues requiring Trust decisions.