Emergency Procedures & Policy

Emergency Procedures & Policy 

EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN IS APPENDIX J

Background

The provision of challenging, adventurous activities within a safe setting is the paramount objective of the centre. We recognise both the risks and benefits that come from adventurous activities.

The purpose of our emergency procedures is to ensure a timely response to any incident. It is not possible to have a detailed plan for every eventuality but it is reasonable to have a set of guiding principles to follow in an emergency.

It is important that everyone involved with the operation of the centre understands their roles and responsibilities, in particular with relation to an emergency. Therefore in this section you will find clear statements regarding who is responsible for what actions.

Our Emergency Procedures fall into two categories, Immediate Actions and Emergency Action Plan. The Immediate Actions are in order to protect individuals and life. The Emergency Action Plan details follow up activities as well as the Immediate Actions.

Responsibilities

All Staff are responsible for carrying out the Immediate Actions

Details of responsibilities regarding record keeping can be found in section 1.6.

Duty Officer is responsible for carrying out the Emergency Action Plan to its full extent.

For RYA Training activities the Centre Principal and relevant chief instructor are responsible for ensuring the full implementation of the Emergency Action Plan.

For any other activity (e.g. pulling, kayaking, etc.) the Relevant GSL is responsible for ensuring the full implementation of the Emergency Action Plan.

Duty officers requiring assistance with implementing the Emergency Action Plan should contact the Centre Centre Principal or a Chief Instructor in the first instance. Contact Details are available in Appendix J .

List of current First Aid qualifications is maintained in the Scout Association Database,  In line with [POR] it is the Duty Officers responsibility to ensure appropriate First Aid cover for all activites.

Publicising 

The Emergency Action Plan shall be prominently displayed in both areas of the building.

Each Safety boat shall have a copy of the Emergency Action Plan in the boat.

All Duty Officers must be familiar with the Emergency Action Plan and be happy to fulfil their roles within the plan or have nominated a delegate to do this for them.

The Emergency Action Plan is aimed primarily at the Duty Officer / Course Directors and the GLV's  Chief Instructors and Centre Principal, However all Adult Instructors should be familiar with it.

Out of Hours

For Out of Hours activities it is the responsibility of the duty officer to agree an Out of Hours Contact for the event, Examples of suitable individuals are relevant (A)GLV/Chief Instructor, Centre Principal or other individuals as agreed by GLV/Centre Principal. The Duty Officer should ensure that these details are displayed prominently next to the phone in the Ajax lobby and in the entrance way of Warspite.

For the purpose of this document Out of Hours is any activity that takes place outside of our normal operating times – Normal operating times are Monday to Friday evenings till 2200, and weekend days. Normal operating hours does not include multi day events. 

Major Incidents

A Major Incident is an entente where there is loss of life, a serious injury, or there is substantial damage to property and/or the environment.

The following are examples of major incidents or accidents:

• An incident leading to a fatality, serious or multiple fractures, amputation or other serious injury leading to hospitalisation.

• Any situation that presents a serious risk to the reputation of either Group, The Scout Association, The RYA , British Canoeing or British Rowings reputation or Brand.

• Major damage to vessels afloat or property ashore

• Loss of contact with a group or individual who might be at serious risk of harm

• Life threatening illness of an individual or group

• Any adverts situation in which the media are or may be involved.

In the event of any major incident, your immediate priority is the safety of participants, volunteers, and instructors involved. Once you have dealt with those involved it's is likely that you are going to have to deal with the authorities and the media. You should immediately contact the emergency services as appropriate.

Following the initial incident it is necessary to follow our internal Emergency Action procedures as well as the appropriate external organisation procedures, Depending on the nature of the activity being undertaken The duty officer and/or the Principal or Chief instructor should liaise with the group scout leaders as to which incident reporting process' should be followed. 

As a rough guide the scout association purple card should be followed for all incidents, and Scout HQ notified if we are contacting other organizations such as the RYA. 

The RYA emergency procedures [TG14-15] should be followed if the incident involved sailing or power boating at the centre.

The paddle UK procedures should be followed for Kayaking and Canoeing related incidents.

The British Rowing procedures followed for Rowing and Pulling Related incidents.

Further information on the individual NGB procedures is available from the relevant chief instructors.