Contingency and emergency planning – a checklist
Contingency and emergency planning – a checklist
Please note that this is general guidance only: you will need to develop detailed plans based on a careful assessment of the situation in your area.
- Take advice (for example from the Environmental Health and Emergency Planning Departments of your local authority, the Fire and Police Services and the Health Service).
- Build your links carefully, well before the event.
- Appoint one member of the planning team with the responsibility to develop and test the contingency and emergency plan.
- Involve as wide a range of people as possible in preparing the plan (use staff meetings to brainstorm ideas, etc).
- Test the plan to see whether the proposed procedures will work.
- Record the plan carefully, make sure that it is up-to-date and that everyone who needs one has a copy (make sure you have back up copies off site).
- Accidents (eg nearby motorway or airport).
- Acts of nature (eg storm).
- Acts of criminals (eg public disturbances).
- Have a proactive risk management programme with risk assessments fully completed and recorded.
- Have clear health and safety instructions for staff and participants.
- Encourage a safety culture amongst support staff and adult leaders.
- Ensure that medical, fire-fighting and security arrangements are in place.
- Put a reporting system in place (with frequent reviews) so that problems can be spotted and prompt action taken.
- Have a clear contingency and emergency plan and be prepared to implement it.
- Management structures which ensure that there is always (24 hours a day during the event) a duty officer who can make decisions.
- A clear command and control structure which the duty officer can implement quickly.
- Operations centres (one on site, another off it, all with communications and other necessary equipment) for use by the command and control structure.
- Methods of raising the alarm on the site.
- Communications, both routine and emergency.
- Medical care and counselling.
- Dealing with hazardous materials.
- Fire-fighting.
- Site layout.
- Emergency security and evacuation arrangements.
- Emergency transport.
- Liaison with local authorities (with named contacts agreed before the event).
- Media contacts (remembering the requirements of Policy, Organisation and Rules).
- Arrangements for contact with parents/guardians of participants.
- Arrangements for follow-up and review after implementation of the plan.