Communication in a crisis in UK ambulance services: What is needed to improve incident communication?
Abstract
Communication during a major incident or business disruption is essential for all organisations, but to the emergency services it is paramount. Timely and accurate communications are critical but present many challenges to all responders, particularly the blue-light sector. There are many layers and components to communication, including command and control, technical solutions and the inherent cultures within each of the ambulance services. While ambulance services have the same tools available to them as their partners in the police and fire service, they appear at times to be disadvantaged, but why is this? Is it organisational culture, access to training or simply the attitude and experience of responding individuals and commanders? UK NHS ambulance services are often the ‘gateway to health’, so failure to communicate is not an option. This paper will discuss the communication challenges that the ambulance service regularly face and the options that are available when dealing with complex or major incidents.
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Author's Biography
Oliver Tovey is Resilience Officer at South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Oliver has 14 years’ experience in the ambulance service. He is responsible for business continuity and resilient communications for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Oliver is an Associate Member of the Business Continuity Institute and was recently a speaker at the BCI World Conference in London. Oliver chairs the UK Ambulance Service Business Continuity Managers Group, which aims to promote national business continuity for consistency, peer support and risk management.
Joshua Tolson is the Business Continuity Manager at South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Joshua is responsible for implementing a system of business continuity management across a large organisation which provides a wide range of services to a population of almost 7 million. While completing his BSc (Hons) degree in disaster management and emergency planning, Joshua worked as a local authority emergency planning officer, before moving to the NHS in 2017.
Angela Vinand is the Business Continuity Manager for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. She has written and delivered courses in business continuity management, debriefing, skills and attributes of an incident commander. She has previously worked for the Environment Agency in the fields of environment and flood incident management, and she has a portfolio in emergency planning and community resilience. Over the past 10 years, Angela has obtained a postgraduate qualification in integrated emergency management, and certificates in management and education.
Citation
Tovey, Oliver, Tolson, Joshua and Vinand, Angela (2018, June 1). Communication in a crisis in UK ambulance services: What is needed to improve incident communication?. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 11, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.69554/NHFE1660.
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