Hospitals prepare for Paris-style terror attack

Bosses at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Burnley General and the Royal Blackburn Hospitals, will reveal the Trust’s prepared response to such a threat at a board meeting next week.

All acute hospitals and clinical commissioning groups in the country have been asked to brief staff and prepare for mass casualties and hospital chiefs said staff also receive some counter-terrorism training.

Mr Kevin McGee, chief executive of East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The Trust, along with all acute trusts and CCGs in the country, has been asked by Dame Barbara Hakin, deputy chief executive of NHS England, to ensure that we are prepared to deal with a mass casualty event in the style of the Paris and Mumbai attacks.

“This is something that the organisation takes very seriously and a paper is being presented at our Trust Board meeting on January 27th to give formal assurance that we have robust and detailed plans in place to respond to any mass casualty event.

“These plans have been audited by NHS England and are designed to complement the wider multi-agency response plans of responders in Lancashire.

“Additionally, all our staff attend a mandatory training session on Prevent – the Government counter-terrorism strategy – which is designed to give an understanding of the Prevent strategy, the ability to use expertise and professional judgement to recognise vulnerable individuals who may need support and local safeguarding and referral mechanisms for further help and advice.”