Planning exercise tests protocol

Emergency services in Lancashire recently undertook a planning exercise to test the protocol involved in dealing with survivors of a major incident.

The imaginary scenario centred around a multiple collision on the M6 Motorway at Junction 31. Participants were told a number of vehicles are involved including two minibuses and a wagon containing hazardous chemicals.

The exercise was structured to test the draft Survivor Reception Centre Guidelines and the interaction between the agencies involved in dealing with the survivors of a major incident.

Other agencies involved included British Red Cross, WRVS, St John Ambulance and Faith representatives.

Bernard Kershaw, Exercise Director and Head Lancashire County Council's Emergency Planning Department said, "The exercise had been planned to be as realistic as possible and thoroughly tested the effectiveness of the draft Survivor Reception Centre Guidelines for providing an integrated multi-agency response to the needs of survivors.

"The police documentation process was put to the test and the handover between police and social care teams proved to be effective. It was also a good opportunity for us to assess how the social care teams deal with survivor's issues."