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Emergency planning
NHS contingency plans and advice on preparing for specific types of disasters and attacks.
What's new
19 December 2007
- Strategic command arrangements for the NHS during a major incident
- NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005: Planning for the management of blast injured patients
14 December 2007
- NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005: underpinning materials - critical care contingency planning in the event of an emergency where the numbers of patients substantially exceeds normal critical care capacity
- NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005: Planning for the management of burn-injured patients in the event of a major incident
13 April 2007: New guidance on the provision of public health advice during a major incident
New cross-government guidance released by the Cabinet Office on providing Scientific and Technical Advice (including Public Health advice) to Gold Commanders. This guidance replaces the Health Advisory Team (HAT) section of the NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005. Gateway reference 7929.
30 March 2007: Mass casualties incidents: a framework for planning
This paper sets guidance and policy to assist the NHS to plan for a major incident of very serious proportions involving potentially large numbers of casualties - ie casualty numbers that are beyond the capacity created by the local implementation of major incident plans - or other major disruptive challenges to the delivery of health care, regardless of their cause.
11 August 2006: Procedure for taking essential medicines on flights
Further to the change in security procedures at UK airports and the need to check all luggage into the hold, the issue of medicines essential for the flight has arisen.
Emergency Preparedness Division
This page links to a number of online services for stakeholders of the Department of Health Emergency Preparedness Division.
NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005
Published 13 October 2005. The purpose of the guidance is to describe a set of general principles to guide all NHS organisations in developing their ability to respond to a major incident or incidents and to manage recovery whether the incident or incidents has effects locally, regionally, or nationally, within the context of the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. It replaces the NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 1998 and all other material previously included in or associated with that Guidance.
NHS Resilience Project: business continuity for the NHS
The NHS Resilience Project is tasked with improving resilience throughout the NHS in order to ensure continuous operational delivery of healthcare services when faced with a range of disruptive challenges.
Deliberate release
Information about specific substances or agents that could be used in terrorist attacks. Of special use to Directors of Public Health (DsPH) and Consultants in Communicable Disease Control (CsDC).
Pandemic flu
Here you can find the contingency plan, and information and resources for health professionals and the public on pandemic influenza. The plan has been produced to ensure that the Government, public and NHS are properly prepared in the event of a flu pandemic.
Patient group directions (PGDs)
Patient Group Directions (PGDs) are documents which make it legal for medicines to be given to groups of patients - for example in a mass casualty situation - without individual prescriptions having to be written for each patient. They can also be used to empower staff other than doctors (for example paramedics and nurses) to legally give the medicine in question.
Examples of good practice in emergency planning
The following documents offer examples of good practice. They have been validated locally by formal adoption in emergency plans or related procedural documents. Although examples will not be included if they contravene national policy, inclusion within this profile does not imply endorsement by the Department of Health as a national standard.
Terrorism and insurance - what you need to know
The purpose of the leaflet is to inform NHS staff in England and Wales about the financial support they could currently expect to receive if they were injured or killed in the course of their duties, as a result of an act of terrorism.
Emergency planning key documents
This page contains useful reference documents related to emergency planning.
Emergency planning useful links
Useful websites for those engaged in or interested in emergency planning.
Glossary of terms
Emergency planning terms, acronyms and abbreviations. The glossary can be downloaded in Portable Document Format (below) or read as a webpage as part of the 2005 Emergency Planning Guidance.
Major incident planning audit and assessment tool
The Audit and Assessment Framework for Major Incident Planning supports the development, maintenance and reviewing/testing of NHS major incident plans. It complements the other parts of the “Operational Doctrine” and should be used to review and improve major incident plans in light of up to date advice. Please note: This database is currently undergoing development.
Additional links
Related Links
Health Protection Agency (HPA)
The Health Protection Agency dedicated to protecting people’s health and reducing the impact of infectious diseases, chemical hazards, poisons and radiation hazards.
National capabilities survey
Dear Colleague letter about the biennial national capabilities survey
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