§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
What guidance have general practitioners, hospital doctors, accident and emergency staff and other health care professionals in the North West of England received regarding patient treatment in the event of a major biological, chemical or nuclear incident; and what mechanisms are in place to enable these healthcare professionals to implement any such guidance [HL1370]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathSince September 11 2001, National Health Service preparations have been stepped up to ensure we are as prepared as we can be in responding to a range of possible new threats such as the deliberate release of chemical or biological agents or incidents associated with radiological or nuclear hazards.
The NHS has increased its preparedness by stockpiling medical equipment, antidotes, antibiotics and vaccines. The Department of Health has issued specific guidance to the NHS on the public health response to the deliberate release of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incidents, mass decontamination and mass casualties. A new protective suit has been issued for use by ambulance and accident and emergency staff working on the decontamination of patients.
The Department of Health has made available through the emergency planning section of its website www.doh.gov.uk/epcu a comprehensive package of guidance for clinicians on dealing with the consequences of deliberate release. This information is regularly updated. The website contains a link to the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.org.uk which provides additional clinical and other information.
In the North West arrangements for providing effective specialist advice to NHS responders (which include not only hospital and ambulance staff but also general practitioners, community nurses, health visitors, mental health services and pharmacists) are co-ordinated through the Regional Public Health Network, led by the Regional Director of Public Health.
The network includes a regional health emergency planning team, regional epidemiologists and three zonal health protection units (HPUs), each with specialist staff including consultants in communicable disease control and health emergency planning officers, and is available to NHS responders on a 24-hour basis.
90WAHPUs are in regular contact with primary care trusts, acute hospital trusts and strategic health authorities in the region providing advice on best practice in response to CBRN incidents, arranging training and exercising of plans and emergency equipment and providing specialist health input as necessary during a major incident.
At the regional level, the health emergency planning team keeps under review all hospital, ambulance service and PCT major incident plans to ensure that they are up to date and that best practice is shared across the region.