In March, our team's clinical training theme was major incidents. Training Lead and Critical Care Practitioner Amy McGufficke, provides this update.

“With the help of our colleagues from the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), we planned a multi-agency major incident training day. This day involved representatives from the ambulance service, police, HART, military, operational and tactical commanders, as well as volunteers from various backgrounds. Interagency training is vital as it allows teams to apply Joint Emergency Service Interoperability Programme (JESIP) principles. This is particularly important when considering the learnings and recommendations from the Manchester Arena enquiry. Ultimately, training and shared knowledge will ensure that each team can work effectively to save as many lives as possible.

“In the morning, we shared learnings from previous major incidents, gained an understanding of each team’s role and capabilities to improve our relationships and how we work together in these situations.

“Following this, the team was thrown into a high-fidelity mock exercise in a quarry with explosives, smoke and multiple casualties. The police and military neutralised the threat, HART rapidly triaged and extricated patients to an area of safety, where the ambulance service and DSAA were able to continue triaging and treating patients.

“Into the future, DSAA will continue to explore ongoing valuable training opportunities with other emergency services in the region. We would like to thank all those involved in helping to make the training day happen, notably Dean Lewis from HART and Lt Col Karl Parfitt, as well as our speakers Steve Westbrook, Jamie Robinson, Inspector Matt Fox and Dr Phil Cowburn. A huge thank you also goes to Billy Ellens and the team at Alford Technologies for kindly sponsoring and hosting this fantastic training day, and to all those who volunteered their time and braved the elements!"

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