Please take a moment to review the learning and consider whether any of the recommendations should be incorporated into your local business continuity or emergency plans.
Thank you for your continued commitment to emergency preparedness.
If you have learning to share, please contact the Emergency Planning Team: emergency
Reporting Information Technology Faults
In September 2025 there was a fault with a critical IT system which, based on the information received, was categorised as medium priority because the severity of the impact wasn’t clearly explained to Informatics Merseyside colleagues
There was also a disruptive Virgin Media outage in December 2025 which caused intermittent telephony, network and system outages.
What we learned:
- Clearer impact descriptions at the time of reporting help the IT helpdesk to correctly prioritise incidents
- Intermittent issues must be reported promptly – delays can slow Trust wide escalation
- Arrangement for data sharing during EMIS down time should be considered in business continuity plans
- Informatics Merseyside are very supportive in determining workarounds which can potentially be delivered rapidly, mitigating risk to clinical services when they are contacted as digital issues emerge.
Recommendations for Managers:
- Make sure teams always include clear impact details when reporting system failures
- Report faults promptly – do not assume the helpdesk is already aware
- After reporting a fault, complete a RADAR incident report
- Add data sharing failure scenarios into your business continuity action cards where relevant.
EPMA Downtime – Are you Prepared When it Happens?
In November 2025, a Trust wide EPMA outage occurred due to a failover issue.
What we learned:
- Routine MAC/MAP printing practice is essential to ensure staff can confidently implement contingencies.
Recommendations for Managers, Fire Wardens:
- Embed regular MAC/MAP printing drills in ward routines
- Make sure every shift includes staff who are trained in EPMA downtime procedures
- Make sure wards understand the following contingency pathways:
- Plan A: If EPMA fails, there is automatic failover to second server
- Plan B: Print MAC and MAPs locally – ward staff should familiarise themselves with site specific plans to facilitate this action
- Plan C: if unable to print MAC and MAPs locally, start remove printing.
Making Changes to IT Systems
Two separate issues affected phlebotomy bookings, caused by hidden appointment categories and incorrect age restricted access.
What we learned:
- Configuration changes must be robustly tested before rolling them out
- It is always important to follow the agreed escalation pathway when requesting changes to clinical systems to avoid confusion and duplication
- Staff benefit from being familiar with system fallback functions
- The Communications team are very helpful in providing communication support when systems have external stakeholders such as patients, GPs etc.
Recommendations for Managers:
- Ensure all configuration changes are tested before deployment
- Ensure BCP action cards reference available fallback options and escalation routes.
Loss of Water Provision
An inpatient site temporarily lost access to water in November 2025
What we learned:
- Excellent teamwork ensured service user safety throughout the incident
- While hygeine products were available, BCPs need further reference to:
- Where essential items are stored
- How to access them 24/7
- How to obtain portable facilities and water containers
- Investment in portable water solutions and clear guidance on emergency water supply should be considered.
Recommendations for Managers
Explore keeping a central supply of IPC approved hygiene products on site in case of water outage, that are accessible 24/7
Explore portable shower solutions that meet IPC and Estates standards.
Learning from a Planned Power Outage
In January, a planed power outage took place requiring full activation of business continuity arrangements after electricity needed to be turned off for essential estate works
What we Learned:
- Early multidisciplinary planning meetings were vital in keeping the service safe. These helped identify the risk and agree mitigations before the outage
- It is important to consider critical systems, equipment, medical equipment that may stop working during the outage and establish contingencies for these
- The post incident audit was reassuring and provided assurance in terms of standing down
- IPC training materials were extremely helpful and supported safer recovery.
Recommendations for Managers
- Hold early planning meetings for any works or events that may disrupt services and ensure actions and mitigations are shared with teams
- Add medication fridge checks to BCP action cards so staff automatically verify fridge temperatures during and after power disruptions
- Review the resilience of digital clinical systems, especially those needed for patient observations
- Ensure critical equipment such as CCTV has robust back up power and schedule periodic testing of batteries and resilience features
- Continue sharing IPC learning materials as part of routine staff briefings and induction
Review service risks and update local risk registers where needed following any major disruption.
Exploring the impact of planned power outages
A Trust run tabletop exercise in October 2025 explored the effects of electrical power failure.
What We Learned:
- Clearer documentation on generator provision is needed
- Multi occupancy sites do not currently have a single tactical coordination route
- More understanding is needed on IT and communications contingencies during outages
- Operational roles and responsibilities require clearer definition
- Decisions made by one team (such as service closure or relocation) may impact others.
Recommendations for Managers:
- A new Electrical Power Outage Contingency Plan has been developed and is under consultation prior to approval and circulation
- Consider how decisions made during incidents may impact other services or stakeholders
Business Continuity Awareness
Recent QRV assessments have given us a valuable insight into how teams understand and describe their Business Continuity Plans (BCPs). The assessment has highlighted an opportunity to further strengthen awareness and understanding of business continuity plans consistently across all services.
Ensuring that every team can clearly explain their BCP, when it would be activated and how it supports safe service delivery will enhance our overall resilience and preparedness.
Some areas have already introduced simple but effective initiatives to support this, including:
- Displaying BCP awareness flyers in ward and clinical areas
- Incorporating short BCP discussions into bi‑monthly risk audits
- Offering reflective practice sessions for teams who would benefit from additional time to embed their understanding.
We encourage all Divisions to consider adopting or building upon these approaches. By continuing to support staff in developing confidence around their BCPs, we can ensure teams feel empowered, informed and ready to respond safely and effectively during periods of disruption.
The Emergency Planning Team is available to support any Division wishing to explore these options further.
LEARNING POINTS FOR ON CALL MANAGERS
- Improving Multi-Occupancy Incident Coordination:
Where more than one Division is affected by an incident, consider appointing a single tactical coordination lead to ensure consistent escalation and communication to the Strategic On Call Manager
- Electrical Power Outage Contingency Plan:
Familiarise yourself with the new Electrical Power Outage Contingency Plan once the approved plan is made available in March 2026
- New to the On Call Management rota?
Please complete the following:
- On Call induction checklist: please speak to your Divisional lead
- NHSE Principles of Health Command Training for Tactical and Strategic Commanders: Please contact the Emergency Planning Team for further detail
- Mersey Care Local Health Command Training: Please contact the Emergency Planning Team for further detail
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SPOTLIGHT ON GOOD PRACTICE |
- Strong multidisciplinary collaboration was evident across all incidents and exercises, supporting effective response and recovery
- During an incident of violence and aggression at a local site, staff demonstrated professionalism and commitment and remained calm, decisive and focused throughout the disruption. This was reinforced by clear communication being offered during and after the incident response. The team followed their Business Continuity Plan effectively ensuring the safety of staff and patients, including correct escalation and RADAR reporting which helped ensure a structured and coordinated response. Staff wellbeing was also prioritised through proactive psychological support and follow up.
- Several services have run short desktop scenario sessions to test their plans, leading to improvements. If you would like to run a scenario, please contact: emergency
.planning @merseycare.nhs.uk
Training
The Emergency Planning Team offers:
- Business Continuity Plan development sessions (as requested)
- Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
- Decision-Loggist training
- Hazmat / Initial Operational Response (IOR) training
If you are interested in attending or require something specific, please email emergency
Updated Emergency Plans available via the Trust Intranet:
- IRP00 Incident Response Plan updated November 2025
- IRP02 Fuel Shortage Plan, updated December 2025
- IRP03 New and Emerging Pandemics, updated September 2025
- IRP04 Initial Management of Incidents Suspected to Involve Hazardous Materials, updated September 2025
- IRP05 UTC/WIC Plan for Receiving Patients During Major Incidents and Mass Casualty Incidents, updated September 2025
- IRP09 Electrical Outage Plan – coming soon in March 2026
Lockdown Plans
In May 2025 a building needed to be locked down due to a security threat.
What we learned:
- Not all staff are familiar with their local Lockdown Operational Plan
Recommendations for Managers:
Ensure all members of the team have received a copy of the local Lockdown Operational Plan and attend local training.
Evacuation Response:
In June 2025, one of the hospital sites needed to evacuate their first floor. This incident reinforces that hospital evacuations can and do happen.
What we learned:
- Alarm panel displays will illuminate to indicate plan system shutdowns, helping staff identify affected zones
- Doors automatically release, only in the zone activated
- Some staff had Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) created to support their safe evacuation
- The evacuation was managed effectively with good communication and needs met during the incident response, including an immediate hot debrief to check on safety and welfare.
Recommendations for Managers, Fire Wardens:
- Liaise with the Estates Team to understand plant system shutdown indicators on fire alarm panel and raise awareness of this in your teams
- Ensure staff understand how door releases and zone activations work, especially in areas with vulnerable patients or restricted access
- Ensure PEEPs are up to date and accessible to staff during emergencies.
- Ensure everyone is up to date on evacuation procedures and has attended the relevant training
- Exercise your local evacuation arrangements to ensure staff are familiar with them and gain assurance all systems react as they should when an alarm is activated
- Refer to the ‘exercise’ session of this Round Up for further recommendations relating to fire evacuation
Single Points of Dependency?
When you are developing your Business Continuity Plans and completing your Business Impact Analysis (BIA), you are asked to identify any ‘Single Points of Dependency’. These are any part of a system, process or operation that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. Identifying and addressing these points is crucial to ensuring the one issue doesn’t cause a complete disruption.
In June 2025, during the warm weather, an over the door air conditioning unit failed and a temporary portable air conditioning unit was installed but malfunctioned requiring temporary replacement air conditioning units to assist with the cooling.
What we learned:
- It was important to ensure there was a contingency arrangement in place if the two portable air conditioning units in the room failed. In this situation, good practice was followed, and contingency arrangements were developed.
Recommendations:
- Look at your Business Impact Analysis. Have you considered all Single Points of Dependency? If you have, please ensure the issues identified have been addressed as far as practically possible while you have the time to do something about it. It may help to avoid a last minute response to a difficult situation.
Loss of Water Supply:
In July 2025, loss of water business continuity action cards were referred to due to due to a water pressure valve fault in the Peasley Cross and WA9 area and was resolved quickly and subsequent burst water main at Hollins Park on 1st August:
Contingencies considered:
- Utilising on site alcohol hand gels, wipes, bottled water was sufficient for the period of downtime
- If required, some staff would have been able to leave the site and work from home or use an alternative base
- Reduce amount of water used until supply was fully restored
- In the event of a protracted water supply failure, mobile handwash stations are available via the Estates Team
Recommendations:
Consider if any of the above contingencies would be helpful to include in your ‘Loss of Water’ Business Continuity Action Card.
Preparing for Local and National Power Outage:
The recent nationwide power outage in Spain and Portugal was a reminder of how quickly services can be unexpectedly disrupted. In July 2025, NHS England led an exercise focusing on a scenario based on a national UK power outage (Exercise Kaus Australis).
What We Learned:
- NHS organisations are reliant on one generator fuel supplier which would become difficult if all organisations were requesting fuel
- Having a local power failure plan that builds on the Trust’s ‘Electrical Rota Disconnection’ Plan would be helpful that incorporates the learning identified during the exercise e.g. communications resilience, management of vulnerable groups, virtual wards, equipment, impacts on ability to discharge patients into homes/sites that won’t have power
Recommendations:
- NHSE national Estates Team to clarify generator fuel supplier resilience
- Trust to develop a National Power Outage Plan
Fire Evacuation Exercise:
On 15th August 2025, a local fire evacuation desktop exercise (Exercise Brantley) took place within a high secure care setting. A lot of good practice and local Divisional learning was identified which the Secure Care Division is taking forward.
What we learned (Relevant to all Divisions):
- Bed availability numbers are only useful if they are up to date giving the true reflection of actual available bed numbers
Recommendation:
- Matrons to periodically walk round each ward (or request someone to do this) to ensure details are up to date
For Noting by On Call Managers:
What We Learned:
- Each Divisional Tactical Coordination Room has an ‘On Call laptop’ and when on call managers log onto the laptop, they may not be able to gain access if the On Call Manager’s profile is not already location.
Recommendation:
- All Tactical Commanders to attend their Divisional Tactical Coordination Room to log onto the laptop to ensure their profile is loaded. This will save you some time if you are dealing with an incident response. You will also be able to check that all critical systems are loading correctly i.e. PACIS, Rio, On Call Resource Channel
- Are you new to the On Call Management rota? If so, please ensure you have completed the following before joining the rota:
- On Call induction checklist (please speak to your Divisional lead)
- NHSE Principles of Health Command Training for Tactical and Strategic Commanders (please contact the Emergency Planning Team for further detail)
- Mersey Care Local Health Command Training (please contact the Emergency Planning Team for further detail)
Testing effectiveness of your Business Continuity Plans
It is essential that your Business Continuity Plan and action cards are tested to gain assurance they are fit for purpose. One way to do this would be to add half an hour to your team meeting and test one of your business continuity action cards using a simple incident scenario. Does the action card:
- Clearly state who to escalate the incident to and how to contact them?
- Contain sufficient detail on how to respond to the situation and the contingency measures to follow?
- Are there any gaps?
- Are the stand down and recovery details sufficient?
If you need advice on how to complete the above, emergency
Training
The Emergency Planning Team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
- Business Continuity Plan development sessions (as requested)
- Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
- Decision-Loggist training
- Hazmat / Initial Operational Response (IOR) training
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email emergency
Upcoming Exercises:
- October 2025: Fuel and electrical disruption (Exercise Franklin)
- Date to be confirmed: Testing the ‘New and Emergency Pandemics’ Plan
If you are an On Call Manager or Decision Loggist and are interested in taking part in an exercise, please email emergency
Updated Emergency Plans available via the Trust Intranet:
- Adverse Weather Plan (Version 4)
- Digital and Cyber Incident Response Plan (Version 1.1)
- Evacuation and Shelter Plan (Version 6.1)
- Flooding Plan (Version 5)
- Fuel Shortage Plan (Version 8)
- Plan for Initial Management of Incidents Suspected to Involve Hazardous Materials (Urgent Treatment Centre/Walk In Centre Sites and Community Visits) (Version 11)
- New and Emerging Pandemic Plan (version 4)
- UTC/WIC Plan for Receiving Patients During Major Incidents ad Mass Casualty Incidents (Version 7)
Takeaways from this Edition:
- Add half an hour to your team meeting and test one of your business continuity action cards
- Ensure you and your team are familiar with your local evacuation procedures
- Have all the ‘single points of dependency’ identified in your Business Impact Analysis been resolved as far as reasonably practical?
- Let us know if you are an On Call Manager/Decision Loggist and want to take part in an exercise response
Note the updated Emergency Plans available via the Trust intranet
Anything you would like to share?
If you have any lessons identified from incidents/exercises that you would like to feed back on, or you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this Round Up, please email Emergency
KEY LEARNING IDENTIFIED
GP Collective Action
If your team is experiencing any impact on service delivery as a result of the ongoing GP Collective Action, it is imperative that an incident is recorded accurately on RADAR utilising the categories set out below.
- Type: 'Service provision'
- Category: 'Failure of service provision'
- Sub-category: 'Failure of provision involving other organisation'
It is important that the correct headings are chosen to ensure that all incidents are captured in the regular incident reports that are produced by the Trust’s Patient Safety Team.
National Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) Security e-Learning training
This provides specialised counter-terrorism awareness training to allow colleagues to prepare and respond to any potential terrorist incidents. This training is a life skill, not just for work, but in everyday living due to the society in which we live in. The training is an interactive session and very engaging.
Our Safety and Security colleagues are encouraging all staff to undertake this training which is available on ESR. The session can be accessed by logging into ESR, clicking My Learning on the left side of the screen, and searching for 350 Counter Terrorism. Once enrolled, the learner can click the course name and select play from the top right of the screen:
If you have any questions relating to the ACT training, please don’t hesitate to contact the Trust’s Safety and Security Team.
Would you like to test the effectiveness of your plans and response procedures?
You may wish to consider undertaking an exercise to identify learning and areas of good practice to enhance the effectiveness of your team’s response to an incident.
The Emergency Planning Team can support you in the development and delivery of a bespoke exercise to meet the specific requirements of your team.
Are you or any of your colleagues joining the On Call rota?
If you are joining Mersey Care’s Operational,Tactical or Strategic rota, please ensure that you have completed the induction checklist, including attendance at the mandated Health Command training, prior to undertaking an on call shift.
If you require further clarification, please contact the Emergency Planning Team or your Divisional EPRR Lead.
Training
The EPRR team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
• Business Continuity Plan development sessions
• Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
• Decision-Loggist training
• Hazmat / Initial Operational Response (IOR) training
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email Emergency
GOOD PRACTICE IDENTIFIED
KEEP YOUR TEAM’S BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS FRESH
Work is ongoing to ensure that all Trust teams and services have an effective up to date Business Continuity Plan in place. All staff (including new starters) should make themselves aware of the location and content of their team’s Business Continuity Plan and raise any queries or concerns with their immediate line manager.
Ideally, Business Continuity Plans should be regularly reviewed by the team, particularly following an incident or period of disruption. If you would like to engage in a BCP desktop scenario to test / validate the Action Cards attached to your team’s BCP, please contact Emergency
If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this Round Up, please email Emergency
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Are you or any of your colleagues joining the On Call rota? If you are joining Mersey Care’s Operational, Tactical or Strategic rota, please ensure that you have completed the induction checklist, including attendance at the mandated Health Command training, prior to undertaking an on call shift. If you require further clarification please contact the Emergency Planning Team or your Divisional EPRR Lead.
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Does your Team undertake Exercises to test plans and identify learning? Going forward, it would be helpful if you could please notify the Emergency Planning Team of any exercises you are running within your teams to ensure they are recorded on the centralised exercising schedule and any identified learning can be shared via this Learning Round Up. If you require support with developing an Exercise for your Team please refer to guidance publications found via the links below. Exercising Best Practice Guidance Lessons Management Best Practice Guidance /// What 3 Words App |
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Are you aware of the “what 3 words” App for the locations that you work from? All staff are encouraged to familiarise themselves with “what 3 words” which is starting to be displayed in reception areas across the Trust sites. When communicating with the Emergency Services your “what 3 words” should be provided to them to clearly identify a definitive location and this will help reduce response times.
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Would you like to be involved in a multi-agency Exercise? Did you know that you can get involved in “playing” a variety of roles during Exercises, both internally and externally? If you are interested in partaking in an Exercise as part of your CPD Portfolio requirements or as part of the scenario cast, please contact the Emergency Planning Team who will record your interest for future Exercises.
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Cyber Security Awareness Month – Passphrases
Good cyber security is everyone’s responsibility. There are some simple steps you can take to keep secure. One way to add extra security to your user account, is by using a passphrase. Passphrases are longer than passwords, requiring 17 characters or more, which makes them more secure against cyber attacks. Find out more about Passphrases. |
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GP Collective Action If your team is experiencing any impact on service delivery as a result of the ongoing GP Collective Action, it is imperative that an incident is recorded accurately on RADAR utilising the categories set out below;
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Training The EPRR team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email Emergency.Planning@merseycare.nhs.u Good practice identified Keep your team's business continuity fresh |
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Work is ongoing to ensure that all Trust teams and services have an effective up to date Business Continuity Plan in place. All Staff (including new starters) should make themselves aware of the location and content of their Team’s Business Continuity Plan and raise any queries or concerns with their immediate Line Manager. Ideally, Business Continuity Plans should be regularly reviewed by the Team, particularly following an incident or period of disruption. If you would like to engage in a BCP desktop scenario to test / validate the Action Cards attached to your Team’s BCP, please contact Emergency |
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NHS Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response (EPRR) Core Standards Audit Health organisations across the country are required to complete an annual NHS Core standards assessment to provide assurance that they are ready to respond to incidents and emergencies, whilst maintaining the ability to remain resilient and continue to deliver critical services. For the 2024/25 period, we are pleased to advise that Mersey Care achieved a ‘substantial compliance’ rating. |
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If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this round up, email: Emergency
International IT disruption (19 July 2024)
- During an IT outage / disruption does your Team revert to paper records to mitigate impact on service delivery? If so, are the templates utilised up to date and are copies available? You may wish to consider reviewing and adding updated templates as Appendices to your Business Continuity Plan.
- Does your Team utilise a WhatsApp group, to maintain communication, as part of business continuity arrangements? If so, are you assured that all team members are included?
Don’t assume IT Service Desk already know!
If you are experiencing IT issues, it is imperative that a job is logged with the IT Service Desk to ensure that they have an accurate situational report of the impact on teams / services.
Good practice: During an incident response it is good practice to consider “recovery” early on in discussions. This will support a prompt return to business as usual.
Do you have a Lockdown Plan for your site?
Recent events have highlighted the importance for sites, that are open to the public, to have a Lockdown Plan that all team members are aware of and understand. If you don’t have a lockdown plan in place, please contact your manager who in turn can liaise with the Trust Safety and Security Team (safety
Generator testing
Following a planned generator test on the Maghull Health Park on Friday, 26 July 2024, both Aspen Wood and Rowan View experienced issues reinstating some critical systems, which continued into the weekend. As an outcome of a rapid review, it was recommended that no future generator testing is scheduled on Fridays at the Maghull Health Park.
Is this something your Team may need to consider?
Training
The EPRR team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
- Business Continuity Plan development sessions
- Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
- Decision-Loggist training
- Switchboard METHANE Training
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email Emergency
Good practice identified
Quarterly audits of the Trust Incident Control Centres (ICCs) have proved invaluable in ensuring that all essential equipment is functional and updated Incident Response Plans are available. Are you an On Call Manager? If so, are you familiar with the location of your Divisional ICC and it’s contents?
To arrange an orientation visit, please contact your Divisional EPRR Lead as follows:
- Community Care Division – Lee Bloomfield / Andrew Jones
- Secure Care Division – Diane Rice
- Mental Health Care Division – Tracy Le Surf
Keep your team's business continuity plans fresh
Work is ongoing to ensure that all Trust teams and services have an effective up to date Business Continuity Plan in place. All staff (including new starters) should make themselves aware of the location and content of their Team’s Business Continuity Plan and raise any queries or concerns with their immediate line manager.
Ideally, Business Continuity Plans should be regularly reviewed by the Team, particularly following an incident or period of disruption. If you would like to engage in a BCP desktop scenario to test / validate the Action Cards attached to your Team’s BCP, please contact Emergency
If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this Round Up, please email
Cyber security update : Please be extra vigilant
Did you know that one of the most common attempts to breach cyber security defences is the use of scam emails.
Scam emails are fraudulent messages that try to trick you into giving away personal, medical or financial information, or infect your device with malware to steal data.
These emails can be very convincing and may appear to come from a legitimate source, such as a person or organisation you know.
Please ensure you report anything suspicious immediately to your IT Service Desk, who can also be contacted for cyber security guidance and advice.
Additional support, including hints and tips, can also be found on the Be Cyber Savvy website managed by the Cheshire and Merseyside Heath and Care Partnership Cyber Security Group.
Contingency arrangements in the event of telephone failure
If a incident occurs that results in the telephone system being unavailable it was recognised that Divisions need to review their list of critical services and identify which services require a business continuity mobile phone so they can continue to be contactable in an emergency. Divisions are working with I Mersey to develop this. Once confirmed, the mobile phone list can be made available for reference during telephone downtime periods.
British Medical Association (BMA) Industrial Action, Thursday 27 June to Tuesday 2 July 2024
The Trust held industrial action planning meetings leading up to the strike action period and command and control arrangements were in place throughout the strike action period. The Trust will continue to follow the same planning and response process for future period of industrial action.
Training
The EPRR team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
- Business Continuity Plan development sessions
- Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
- Decision-Loggist training
- Switchboard METHANE Training
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email Emergency
Good practice identified - do you know the “what 3 words” for your exact location?
Download the App, you never know when you may need to give a specific location, and it’s welcomed by the emergency services to support them when responding to an incident.
If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this Round Up, please email: Emergency
Kensington Health Centre Fire (09 March 2024)
The On-Call Manager was alerted to the fire at Kensington Health Centre via the Trust switchboard, whom in turn, had been alerted via a senior member of staff who had seen the incident reported on Social Media.
- If you are based in a building which is maintained by a landlord and not our Estates Department are you aware of the Landlords contact details in hours and out of hours and the correct route of communication between the landlord and the Trust? Please reference these details in your contingency plan so your On Call Manager can refer to it if required
- Estates Senior Manager On Call : available seven days per week; between the hours of 5pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday and 8am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday.
Estates Internal Self Delivery Team : on call from 5pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday and provide 24 hour cover at weekends.
Rio – Intermittent Disruption (29 February 2024 to 8 March 2024)
The was a recent intermittent disruption to the Rio system. The system uses ‘Beacon’ as contingency arrangement which allows users to view Rio information and in turn reduce the risk of error and continuiation of service provision. If you use Rio, are the Beacon contingency arrangements referenced in your Business Continuity action cards? If not, now is the time to reference it in your plans. Other learning identified is as follows:
- If a contractor is making system changes late in the afternoon, or leading into a weekend, ensure the contractor is available out of hours to respond to any unexpected issue
- When systems are due to be updated, I Mersey will set up pre planned meetings throughout the day, for divisions to escalate any issues to
- While Beacon is a Contingency for the Rio system, there are lots of other critical IT systems. Work is now taking place with I Mersey to review the critical IT patient facing systems and confirm the contingency arrangements available which can feed into Divisional Business Continuity Plans.
Exercise Tergo (10 April 2024)
The Emergency Plannig Team facilitated an exercise to test the validity of the Trust’s ‘Management of Self Presenters involved in a Hazardous Materials Incident Plan’ (HAZMAT Plan). Staff with specific roles relating to WiCs / UTCs attended, along with representation from the Senior Leadership Team, On Call Commanders, Clinicians, Estates, Facilities, Health and Safety and the Communications Team. We were extremely pleased to also have representation from North West Ambulance Service, UK Health and Security Agency, NHS England North West and Cheshire & Merseyside ICB EPRR Teams and it was an excellent opportunity for collaboration and discussion regarding the response.
The post-Exercise Debrief identified some really useful key learning which will be incorporated into the Trusts HAZMAT Plan and once approved, will be available on YourSpace.
Exercise: Changing seasons
A desktop exercise was held on Thursday, 14 March 2024 to test the Trust’s Adverse Weather response arrangements. The exercise concluded that the Trust has a helpful and responsive plan in place. Some minor learning points were identified as follows:
- Emergency Planning will be discussing with Estates to identify if additional gritting bins can be made available, due to the number of sites covered in Mersey Care
- Inclusion of Operational On Call Managers in weather alerts
- It is not always useful to arrangement planning meetings first thing in the morning when Commanders are busy responding to the situation. Next time, a meeting will be set up slightly later, with Divisions asked to join, only if they have something to escalate
Caution with unusual email requests
There have been several incidences reported about people receiving emails from a genuine NHS email address asking the receiver to look at an attachment or asking how to change their bank account details.
These emails seem to have one of two purposes:
- Asking the receiver to look at or download an attachment, or click on a link, with no explanation.
- Asking someone from HR / Payroll how to go about changing their bank account.
Advice: All NHS staff should maintain vigilance over the authenticity of the emails that they receive. If a work colleague usually signs off “Best Wishes, Kaz”, and the email you receive is different, phone them to check if it’s genuine. If the tone or context of any email appears different to normal, or the email address looks different, please be cautious.
Training
The EPRR team offer the following training opportunities to staff:
- Business Continuity Plan development sessions
- Local Health Command (mandatory) training for Tactical and Operational commanders
- Decision-Loggist training.
If you are interested in finding out more or if you feel that you need something specific, the team would like to hear from you, please email Emergency
Good practice identified
Once again, setting up an MS Teams Chat when responding to an incident proved very helpful and allows users to escalate issues as they arise, resulting in a faster collaborative response.
If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within this Round Up, please email: Emergency
If you would like to discuss any of the incident responses or learning contained within these bulletins, please email Emergency