Emergency Planning
Accidents, whether human or natural, occur from time to time. They can occur on a small or large scale, severe weather, widespread infectious diseases of humans or animals, a transport disaster, a pollution incident, flooding disruption to essential services or a terrorist attack etc. All have the potential to cause disruption for communities on a large scale and present major operational problems for the National Health Service. Organisations within the NHS, such as Primary Care Trusts therefore need to plan and prepare for such emergencies. In addition, the Civil Contingency Act (2004) imposes duties on all NHS bodies with regards to civil protection.
Emergency planning should aim where possible to prevent emergencies occurring, and when they do occur, good planning should reduce, control or mitigate the effects of the emergency. It is a systematic and ongoing process which should evolve as lessons are learnt and circumstances change.
As an NHS organisation, we are responsible for supporting emergency services and the local authority in the event of a major incident as well as continuing to ensure our own services are provided appropriately. The health of the local population is our responsibility and we take our obligation to protect health in the event of a major incident very seriously.
A major incident could occur at any time and with little or no warning so we ensure that our staff are trained and able to respond in the event of an emergency. We maintain close links with our partner agencies and patients in order to ensure that our plans are effective and robust.