Emergency planning

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has a duty to protect the health of the community, including at times of emergency.

We have a central role in planning for and responding to any incident with major consequences for health or health services, in partnership with other parts of the NHS, the emergency services and local authorities.

This Trust works closely with the Strategic Health Authority and with the Primary Care Trusts and other hospital Trusts within this area in planning for and managing all types of emergencies and major incidents.

Legislation (Civil Contingencies Act 2004) means the Trust have a legal obligation to have plans in place to respond effectively to any incident.

The Trust is known as a ‘Category One responder’ and is subject to set civil protection requirements and works within the NHS Emergency Planning Guidance 2005 and Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

Use the links to the left for emergency news, links and plans.

Emergency planning aim

The Trust’s aim is to plan for local and national emergencies by:

• assessing the risk of an emergency
• working within the Trust and in partnership with the emergency services, local authorities and other agencies
• identifying priorities to develop plans to respond to deal with all types of emergencies for example, accidents, infectious epidemics, disasters or systems failures
• planning how to continue to deliver critical services
• developing ways to warn and inform the public
• training programmes and emergency exercises to test our capability to respond to large scale incidents.

Emergency planning team

The Trust has an emergency planning team but every member of staff plays a vital role in ensuring a professional NHS response to an incident with each area of the Trust having a nominated lead for emergency planning.

• Thérèse Davis (Chief Nurse and Director of Patient Flow & Patient Experience)
  Director of Emergency Preparedness and Flu Director
  
  T: 020 3315 6721
  E: therese.davis@chelwest.nhs.uk
  
  
  
• Melanie van Limborgh (Assistant Director of Nursing)
  Emergency Planning Lead Officer
  
  Melanie is currently on secondment to the Emergency Preparedness Division at the Department of Health
  
  
  
• Catherine Sands (Major Incident Planning Manager)
  Catherine is acting into Melanie’s role while Melanie is on secondment
  
  T: 020 3315 6729 or 020 3315 5000 Bleep 6729
  E: catherine.sands@chelwest.nhs.uk