Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Soili Larkin & Joshna Mavji

Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Soili Larkin & Joshna Mavji

Why plan for emergencies? "I have never been in an accident of any sort and have never been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort." E J Smith, the captain of the Titanic 2 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

Aim Understand the basic principles and set up of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Services 3 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

Objectives Define Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Describe types of emergencies Outline the EPRR process Outline the legislation behind EPRR arrangements Outline the setup and roles of EPRR Services 4 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Key Definitions Emergency - a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action Disaster - a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life Crisis - a time of intense difficulty or danger 5 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Types of Emergencies Sudden Impact: An event that happens with little or no prior warning. The effects are usually felt instantly and could include transportation accidents, utility failure, industrial accidents and acts of terrorism. Rising Tide: An event that has a lead time of days, weeks or even months. This type could include health pandemics, flooding, foot and mouth disease and industrial action. Foreseeable Event: An event that can clearly be predicted to such a degree that specific contingency plans can be developed for the situation. This type could include events such as May Day protests, marches etc. 6 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Background Organisations / Businesses need to plan for, and respond to, different types of incidents and emergencies that could affect business functioning. These could be anything from extreme weather conditions to an outbreak of an infectious disease or a major transport accident. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA) requires NHS organisations, and providers of NHS-funded care, to show that they can deal with such incidents, while maintaining normal services. This is referred to as emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR). It involves: Assessment of the risks to people and infrastructure Reduction of the identified risks where necessary Collection of information, resources and equipment to deal with emergencies Development of a plan detailing what staff need to do in the event of an emergency in order to speed up the response and minimise panic Staff training - an overview for all staff, and specific training for those who will be involved in dealing with emergencies 7 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR Cycle 8 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Legislation The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA) Establishes a clear set of roles and responsibilities for those involved in emergency preparedness, resilience and response. Aims to ensure consistency of planning across all agencies. The Act divides responder organisations into 2 categories depending on the extent of their involvement in civil protection work; Category 1 responders & Category 2 responders. A proportionate set of duties are placed on each category. Health and Social Care Act (2012) The Department of Health, public health, and local healthcare systems must provide a seamless and co-ordinated response to the challenge of natural hazards, accidents and outbreaks and the enduring threat of worldwide terrorism. 9 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Category 1 Responders Who are they? A local responder organisation listed in Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Civil Contingencies Act These parties are at the core of emergency responders Includes: Emergency Services: Police forces, British Transport Police, Fire Authorities, Ambulance Services Maritime and Coastguard Agency Local Authorities: All principal local authorities (i.e. metropolitan districts, shire counties, shire districts, shire unitaries), Port Health Authorities Health Bodies: Acute Trusts, Foundation Trusts, Public Health England Government Agencies: Environment Agency 10 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Category 1 Responders What duties do they have? Ensuring they have emergency response plans in place Ensuring they have arrangements to make information available to the public and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency. Sharing information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination Co-operating with other local responders and partner agencies, through the Local Resilience Forum, to enhance co-ordination and efficiency. Having robust business continuity management arrangements in place. 11 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Category 2 Responders Who are they? Co-operating bodies that are placed under lesser obligations than Category 1 responders. What duties do they have? Co-operating and sharing relevant information with Category 1 responders Engagement in discussions where they can add value. Respond to reasonable requests from Category 1 responders. 12 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

Emergency Plans The purpose of an emergency plan is to serve organisations engaged in response and recovery, at the time of an emergency. Its aim is to increase multi-agency and community resilience by ensuring that all those charged with tackling the emergency on behalf of the community: know their role; are competent to carry out the tasks assigned to them; have access to available resources and facilities; have confidence that their partners in response are similarly prepared. The plans can be generic, specific, single or multi-agency An Emergency Plan can be created to cover a range of sizes of emergencies, but it should explicitly state what is and is not included, so that it is clear when the plan should be used. 13 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Local Resilience Local Resilience Forums (4 in West Midlands) A process for bringing together all the category 1 responders within a local police area for the purpose of facilitating co operation in fulfilment of their duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. During the response and recovery phases of an emergency, the LRF becomes the Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG). This reverts back to an LRF during the prevention and planning phases of an emergency. Local Health Resilience Partnerships (4 in West Midlands) These provide a strategic forum for local organisations to facilitate health sector emergency preparedness and planning. It offers a coordinated point of contact for the LRF. Members of the LHRP are Executive Representatives who are able to authorise plans and commit resources on behalf of their organisations. 14 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Science and Technical Advice Cell (STAC) The explosions at Buncefield oil terminal in December 2005 and a fire at a chemical works in Gloucestershire a year later highlighted weaknesses in arrangements for providing co-ordinated scientific and technical public health advice to responders in an emergency. On 16 th April 2007, new guidance was issued to local responders on the establishment of a Science and Technical Advice Cell (STAC) within the multi-agency Strategic Co-ordination Centre (SCC) in the event of an emergency where there is likely to be a requirement for timely, co-ordinated and comprehensible scientific or technical public health advice. 15 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Roles of the STAC Provide a common source of health, scientific and technical advice to the Gold Commander and other members of the SCG to ensure the health of the public is protected. Monitor and co-ordinate the responding science and technical community to deliver on the SCG s high level objectives and immediate priorities; Agree any divergence from agreed arrangements for providing science and technical input Pool available information and arrive, as far as possible, at a common view on the scientific and technical merits of different courses of action; Provide a common brief to the technical lead from each agency represented in the Cell on the extent of the evidence base available, how the situation might develop, what this means, and the likely effect of various mitigation strategies; 16 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

EPRR: Roles of the STAC Identify other agencies/individuals with specialist advice who could be invited to join the Cell in order to inform the response; Liaise with national specialist advisors from agencies represented in the Cell and, where appropriate, the wider scientific and technical community to ensure the best possible advice is provided; Liaise between agencies represented in the Cell and their national advisors to ensure consistent advice is presented locally, regionally and nationally; Ensure a practical division of effort among the scientific response to avoid duplication and overcome any immediate problems arising; Maintain a written record of issues raised by the SCG, decisions made and rationale behind those decisions. 17 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

Further information http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/eprr/gf/ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2 16884/EPRR-Summary-of-the-principal-roles-of-health-sectororganisations.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2 15083/dh_133597.pdf 18 Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)