AlaskaDenise
In Memoriam
(Since there is no room for Scotland, I put this here....)
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/75256.shtml
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=480 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=artByline>LUCY ADAMS, Home Affairs Correspondent</TD><TD class=artDate align=right>November 25 2006</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Scotland is not sufficiently prepared to deal with a major emergency such as a flu pandemic or terrorist attack, according to new research commissioned by ministers.
A study ordered by the Scottish Executive raises serious concerns about the country's state of preparedness in case of a major incident.
The authors of the report said they were concerned about the lack of long-term recovery arrangements and said "healthcare provision and mortuary facilities could be stretched beyond limits in a wide area emergency such as pandemic flu".
It found that there are temporary mortuary places for 1516 bodies, as many areas would deploy refrigerated trucks in emergencies.
It also raised concerns about temporary post-mortem facilities. They found Strathclyde has only four places compared to 50 in Tayside.
The report was commissioned following the London bombings in July 2005 and heightened concerns in relation to international worries about avian flu.
Conducted by the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management, it reveals that there are no plans in Scotland to test mass evacuation arrangements and that this needs to be addressed.
It highlights concerns about the need for further funding and training and the lack of formal mutual aid agreements between the agencies such as the police, fire and maritime services.
The report did, however, praise the good relationships and trust between the different agencies and local authorities.
The study looked at how all the agencies, including the fire service, hospitals and coastguards, would deal with different emergencies such as an outbreak of avian flu in which hospital capacity is exhausted and 10% of the population is ill. It was based on interviews with the different agencies.
The report criticised communications plans and mortuary capacity in certain areas. Almost all the local areas said they would cater for high numbers of fatalities with freezer trailers.
A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers In Scotland, said: "We have not had a chance to go through the report in detail. However, the police service along with all its partners, is dedicated to being as prepared as it possibly can be and this is reflected in the amount of emergency exercises we have been carrying out with all our partner agencies across the country."
A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "It is our duty to prepare as well as we can to protect the public in the face of any emergency. This report is one element of the executive's ongoing information gathering and analysis ? analysis which informs a continuing programme of improvements.
"Ministers will never cease striving to make Scotland safer and will consider the findings of the report, as well as evidence from a variety of sources, as they continue to develop the nation's resilience."
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http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/75256.shtml
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=480 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=artByline>LUCY ADAMS, Home Affairs Correspondent</TD><TD class=artDate align=right>November 25 2006</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
A study ordered by the Scottish Executive raises serious concerns about the country's state of preparedness in case of a major incident.
The authors of the report said they were concerned about the lack of long-term recovery arrangements and said "healthcare provision and mortuary facilities could be stretched beyond limits in a wide area emergency such as pandemic flu".
It found that there are temporary mortuary places for 1516 bodies, as many areas would deploy refrigerated trucks in emergencies.
It also raised concerns about temporary post-mortem facilities. They found Strathclyde has only four places compared to 50 in Tayside.
The report was commissioned following the London bombings in July 2005 and heightened concerns in relation to international worries about avian flu.
Conducted by the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management, it reveals that there are no plans in Scotland to test mass evacuation arrangements and that this needs to be addressed.
It highlights concerns about the need for further funding and training and the lack of formal mutual aid agreements between the agencies such as the police, fire and maritime services.
The report did, however, praise the good relationships and trust between the different agencies and local authorities.
The study looked at how all the agencies, including the fire service, hospitals and coastguards, would deal with different emergencies such as an outbreak of avian flu in which hospital capacity is exhausted and 10% of the population is ill. It was based on interviews with the different agencies.
The report criticised communications plans and mortuary capacity in certain areas. Almost all the local areas said they would cater for high numbers of fatalities with freezer trailers.
A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers In Scotland, said: "We have not had a chance to go through the report in detail. However, the police service along with all its partners, is dedicated to being as prepared as it possibly can be and this is reflected in the amount of emergency exercises we have been carrying out with all our partner agencies across the country."
A Scottish Executive spokeswoman said: "It is our duty to prepare as well as we can to protect the public in the face of any emergency. This report is one element of the executive's ongoing information gathering and analysis ? analysis which informs a continuing programme of improvements.
"Ministers will never cease striving to make Scotland safer and will consider the findings of the report, as well as evidence from a variety of sources, as they continue to develop the nation's resilience."
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