Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR)

All NHS organisations have a duty to put in place continuity arrangements.

This means that services should be maintained to agreed standards during any disruption (e.g. loss of utilities, loss of staff, loss of estate etc.) or recovered to these standards as soon as possible. Business continuity management (BCM) gives Mersey Care a framework for identifying and managing risks that could disrupt normal service. The holistic process of business continuity management is an essential tool in establishing the organisation’s resilience.

All staff are responsible for

• Being aware of their role & responsibilities during incidents and emergencies ~ if in doubt, discuss with your line manager
• Ensure they are familiar with the contents and location of business continuity plan and action cards related to their team/ service.

• Incident Response Plan
• Trust wide Incident Response Plans
• Business Continuity Policy
• Useful templates and guidance for the development of Business Continuity plans
• HAZMAT Plan - contact numbers for advice are available in the HAZMAT Plan, which is available on the Trust policies and procedures YourSpace page
• Debrief SOP

It is a mandatory requirement for all Tactical on-call managers to attend the NHSE Principles of Health Command Tactical training.

To book a place please book using the booking link below and  email Emergency.Planning@merseycare.nhs.uk to inform them so that training portfolios are updated.

Please note that candidates must attend for the entire four hours of the course to be compliant. If people leave early or part way through, they will need to attend another full session.

The main reason is because disasters can and do happen and we are expected to have tested plans to deal with them. Emergency response plans are developed to mitigate the implications of incidents. The organisation has a duty of care to patients and their families, the staff, the community, and partner agencies. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is a 'Category One Responder' under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and has a statutory obligation to plan, train and exercise for emergencies in consultation, coordination, communication, and cooperation with partner agencies like other NHS organisations, emergency services, local authorities, and commissioners. 

Major Incidents:

In line with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, a major incident is any event that threatens life, the environment and security and has the potential to:

• Require a substantial emergency response from one or more agencies
• Stretch resources beyond the normal level of activity
• Require special arrangements to be put in place, including requirement for additional resources
• Require a planned, coordinated multi agency approach in conjunction with command-and-control arrangements

Please refer to the Trust Major Incident Plan for further detail.