Good Hope staff tested for readiness in case of emergencies

Staff at Good Hope Hospital are checking their readiness for handling a range of potential emergencies to ensure they meet new national requirements to plan for risks and hazards the NHS may face.

They are being put through their paces in a series of exercises to ensure they know what to do in an emergency – and that proper procedures are in place to support them.

In November, an exercise was held to test the reaction of hospital staff in the event of a major road accident involving dozens of casualties.

Last month, another exercise was held to check that the right procedures are in place if a baby was abducted from the hospital’s maternity wards.

Phil Milligan, Good Hope Hospital’s Managing Director, said: “We think the security system we have is a good one. The doors to maternity wards are permanently locked and visitors have to be escorted in an out by members of staff.

“However, we have a duty to test our response to a worst case scenario we could face and arranged the mock abduction of a baby. There have been a small number of these unfortunate incidents in the NHS over the years, but not at Good Hope Hospital – and we want to keep it that way.

“We worked with outside agencies on the exercise to make it as realistic as possible. Staff reacted very well. The results of the exercise are now being analysed and the results will be fed back into our emergency plans.

“One of the main aims of this process is to ensure the public can have confidence that the services we provide are as secure and safe as possible and that we have plans in place to deal with all emergencies.”

All NHS organisations are now required to develop all encompassing emergency plans that ensure they can respond to the risks they face. Good Hope Hospital has appointed an emergency planning officer to ensure it meets this requirement.

Further exercises will be held over the coming months to test procedures for preventing, or dealing with, a range of other potential hazards.

For more information, contact Andy Comber, Head of Communications, at Good Hope NHS Trust: 0121 378 2211 ext 1146, Mob: 07974 575104.

Source : Good Hope