This page provides information about how we plan for Major Incidents.
Major Incidents
All hospitals have an important role in responding to Major Incidents in the communities they serve. For example, when incidents lead to large numbers of casualties then we may need to provide urgent medical assessment and treatment to large numbers of people whilst continuing to ensure appropriate care for our existing patients.
Our responsibilities are set out in The Civil Contingencies Act 2004, which defines an emergency as:
An event or a situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK
This Act is supplemented by specific guidance to the NHS from the Department of Health (please visit the Emergency Planning pages). This defines major incidents for the NHS as being:
Any occurrence that presents 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 hospitals, ambulance trusts or primary care organisations.
Major Incident Plans
To help us prepare for such events we have a Major Incident Plan. This sets out our arrangements for responding to Major Incidents if they arise.
Updates on our Major Incident Plan are brought periodically to the Trust Board.
Working Together
Since most Major Incidents will have an impact beyond the Trust, public sector organisations, utilities companies and other partners work together in Local Resilience Forums. We are part of the West Mercia Local Resilience Forum (LRF) which helps us work with our partners across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire to plan for and respond to major incidents.
The West Mercia Local Resilience Forum has a website called West Mercia Prepared. This provides information and advice about actions to take to ensure that residents, visitors and businesses in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire are ready before, during or after a major incident.
General information is available about developments in Civil Protection, covering a wide range of emergencies from localised flooding to a terrorist attack.
At times of emergency, the website will be used to publish information about what is happening, how the incident is being addressed and by whom, and potentially how the public can assist. You can sign up to the E-alerts facility, which will send updated information to your email address automatically, or simply visit the website on a regular basis.
There is also a dedicated section for the media. Media representatives will need a password to access this section of the site. Please visit the Media page to find out more.
Further information is available from the West Mercia Prepared website.
Working with the Media
Information about working with the media in the event of a major incident is available from the News and Media section of our website.