On Wednesday, April 24, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) will be holding their three yearly live major incident exercise as required by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. This exercise will also serve as the Norfolk Local Resilience Forum live exercise. The exercise will take place on a preserved railway line in Norfolk.
The exercise will commence at 10.00am and will test the multi-agency response to a Major Incident. A multi-agency group, including Norfolk Constabulary, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), HM Armed Forces, Norfolk County Council (NCC), NCC Children’s Services, South Norfolk Council (SNC) and Peterborough Medical Emergency Response Incident Team (MERIT) have formed a partnership to manage this event.
Students from Lowestoft College who are acting as casualties throughout the exercise are studying on the public services course and wish to become paramedics, fire-fighters and police officers of the future.
Robert Flute, EEASTs Head of Resilience and Special Operations (Chair of Norfolk Resilience Forum) said: “The aim of this exercise is to ensure that the multi-agency response to a Major Incident is effective and coordinated. There will be a multi-agency Command and Control Structure which will include all levels of command structure with a Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG).”
Notes to editors – While the exercise will be theoretical we have tried to replicate the situations we would face were it to happen for real and will feed in detailed information ranging from weather conditions to staff and equipment availability.
It is essential that all partners within the Resilience Forum train and exercise together in the management of such an event. It helps each agency to understand one another in an environment where skills can be developed, in preparation for a significant or major incident scenario.
For further information regarding this exercise, please email Gary Sanderson at gary.sanderson@eastamb.nhs.uk