The Pan-Avon Response& The Health Incident Coordination Centre

Presentation Aims & Objectives

• Consider duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004• Consider the implications of the NHS Emergency

Planning Guidance 2005• Revisit some basic concepts of resilience• Examine preparedness and response arrangements• Compare the roles of the ECT and HMT• Discuss the mechanisms for providing public health

advice

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

• Civil Contingencies Bill received royal assent in 2004• Creates a framework for resilience in the UK• Defines an emergency• Categorises responding agencies• Places duties on responding agencies• Monitoring of implementation remains with existing

arrangements• Enabled The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency

Planning) Regulations 2005• Substantial statutory and non-statutory guidance

CCA Duties

Seven duties placed on responding agencies:• Cooperation• Information Sharing• Risk Assessment• Emergency Planning• Business Continuity Management• Warning and Informing The Public• Business Continuity Promotion (Local Authorities)

NHS Emergency Planning Guidance

• Emphasises the ‘all hazards’ approach to emergency preparedness

• Provides a framework by which NHS Trusts can implement the requirements of the CCA and associated regulations and guidance

• Introduces the elements of Command, Control & Coordination and the framework of the health response

• Sets roles and responsibilities for healthcare organisations

Concepts in Resilience 1: The Disaster Cycle

Response

Anticipation

Assessment

Recovery

Prevention

Preparation

Concepts in Resilience 1: Command & Control

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

Health Emergency Preparedness

LRF Management Group

Avon Public Health Network

Avon HealthSub-Group

(AHSG)

Emergency Planning Liaison Officers’ Forum

(EPLOF)

Training Group(Proposed)

Avon Pandemic Flu Planning

Group

Avon PCT Emergency

Planning Officer

Local Resilience Forum (LRF)

LRF Secretariat

BANES PCTEmergency

Planning Group

Bristol PCT Emergency

Planning Group

North Somerset PCT Emergency Planning Group

South Gloucestershire PCT Emergency Planning Group

Avon Primary Care

Somerset Health Sub-Group

(SHSG)

Pandemic Flu(Proposed)

Health Emergency ResponseO

pe

rati

on

alT

acti

cal

Str

ateg

ic Strategic Coordinating

Group (SCG or GOLD)

Health Management Team (HMT)

Scientific & Technical

Advisory Cell (STAC)

Multi-Agency Silver

Ambulance Service Tactical

Command

Lead PCT Emergency

Control Team (ECT)

Supporting PCTEmergency

Control Team (ECT)

Primary Care

Walk-In Centres

Community Hospitals

General Practice

Emergency Treatment

Centres

Acute Trust Emergency

Control Centre

Receiving Hospital

Acute Care

Supporting Hospital

MERIT

Ambulance Service Forward

Control

Multi-Agency Bronze

Emergency Care

PCT Emergency Control Team

“The Emergency Control Team is a nominated group of PCT personnel consisting whose role is to set up, manage and run the PCT Local Control centre (LCC) either as ‘Lead’ or as ‘Support’.”

Membership:• Emergency Control Team Leader (On-call Director)• Emergency Coordinator (Head of Corporate Services)• Community Nursing Coordinator (Head / Director of Nursing)• Medical Director (Chair / Vice Chair of Executive Committee)• Media Coordinator (Member of Communications Team)

The Local Control Centre (LCC)

“The LCC will serve as the focal point for all liaison, coordination and control matters.”

Location: Board Room, Waverley House, Clevedon

Health Management Team

Membership:• Ambulance Trust Executive Liaison Officer• Acute Trust Executive Liaison Officer• Primary Care Trust Executive Liaison Officer• Administrative Support• Strategic Health Authority Liaison Officer

Health Incident Coordination Centre (HICC)

“The Health Incident Co-ordination Centre (HICC) will be the focus of the co-ordination of a service wide response on a pan-Avon basis. Whenever necessary, in response to a real or potential for a significant increase in demand for NHS services a HICC may be established.”

Location: Acuma House, Almondsbury

Around the HICC

Activating the HICC

Activated as a result of:

• Declaration of major incident requiring coordinated health response

• Notification of a ‘rising-tide’ incident

Decision to activate HICC should be taken by the ECT lead

Utilising the HICC

• Centralised collation of bed-state information across Avon• Centralised coordination of patient admissions, transfers

and discharges• Determining admissions policies• Central coordination of liaison arrangements• Coordination of mutual aid arrangements• Resource monitoring and allocation

STAC

• Need for public health advice for SCG• Previous arrangements for JHAC/HAT/HAG• STAC Guidance issued by Cabinet Office June 2007• Retrospectively active• LRF responsible for developing arranements• Draft to be submitted to the Avon Health Sub-Group• Approval/adoption required by the LRF

Further Progress

• Development of Standard Operating Procedures• Development of Health Management Team (HMT) and

support staff action cards• Additional training for HMT and support staff• Installation of resilient satellite telecommunications

system• Identification of fallback facility• Integrate STAC arrangements with HICC• Develop continuity arrangements• Incident Command Systems and GIS

References

References for presentation are available upon request.

Any Questions?

Thank you.