HC Deb 25 November 2002 vol 395 cc131-2W
Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements have been made in establishing(a) a national doctrine, (b) national standards and (c) national commonality of equipment to enable ambulance services to respond to a CBRN incident. [82583]

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements have been made in establishing(a) a national doctrine, (b) national standards and (c) national commonality of equipment to enable ambulance services to respond to a (i) chemical, (ii) biological, (iii) radioactive and (iv) nuclear incident. [82160]

Mr. Lammy

[holding answer 21 November 2002]Ambulance services are required to maintain their capability to respond to a range of major incidents, including chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear incidents. But due to the changes in risk and scale, the Ambulance Service Association has been working in conjunction with other emergency services to produce a national approach based on a common doctrine, standard approach and common procedures. This work is approaching its conclusion and that we can expect recommendations shortly. National procurement arrangements for interim personal protective equipment have already been completed and higher specification equipment and decontamination units are now being delivered, which will ensure that each ambulance service will have access to common equipment.

Mr. Letwin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance personnel in each ambulance trust have been trained in dealing with a CBRN incident. [82581]

Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance personnel have been trained in dealing with a(a) chemical, (b) biological, (c) radioactive and (d) nuclear incident in each ambulance trust. [82159]

Mr. Lammy

[holding answer 21 November 2002]Ambulance services, based on their local risk assessment, were required to train teams of staff in dealing with a chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear incident. As they take delivery of decontamination units and newer protective equipment, further training programmes are being instigated on a cascade basis. The current number of staff trained is not collected centrally.