Report published on lessons learned from London Underground emergency exercise

The emergency exercise at Bank Underground Station carried out on 7th September confirmed that a great deal of work has been done to improve London's capability to respond to major emergencies but identified further areas for action.

The exercise was designed to enable London's frontline services, fire, police and ambulance, to practise their response to a chemical attack on the Tube.

Key lessons from the exercise were published yesterday by Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport.

Mr Darling said:

"This was an extremely valuable exercise, which allowed us to test the capability and constraints of our emergency services under difficult circumstances. Exercises such as this are also an opportunity to learn and we have identified areas that need further development.

"While some of the conclusions need to remain confidential for reasons of security we are today fulfilling our commitment to make public the key findings that the emergency services and others have identified."

The exercise found that:
* A great deal of work has already been done by Government, Emergency Services and the Mayor of London to improve London's capability to respond to emergencies through improved equipment and planning;

* There needs to be contingency planning, preparation and funding for responding to large scale emergencies and that this work continues to be given high priority;

* Work needs to continue to look at and prepare for alternative rescue plans for difficult environments like the London Underground;

* Work needs to continue to improve the ability of those wearing protective suits to be able to communicate under difficult conditions;

* Ambulance crews need to be able to provide earlier assessment, care and delivery of specific antidotes to contaminated casualties; and,

* The number of people and specialist equipment required to respond to such emergencies must not be underestimated.

•Date: 16th December 2003 •Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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