A major incident may be declared by an emergency service. However a major
incident for one service is not necessarilly a major incident for another.
(for example if everyone is dead - plane crash, no major incident exists for
the health services but it probably would for the police)
There is usually an agreement between control rooms that if one service
declares a major incident the other control rooms are informed - this does
NOT mean that the other services will declare a major incident.
Different services use different definitions to declare a major incident,
for example in some fire services a 10 pumper is a major incident. For the
health services:
"A major incident for the health services is an incident that owing to the
number, type, severity or location of casualtiesn requires special
arrangements by the health services"
If all the people were uninjured in your incident a health services major
incident did not occur.
Simon Carley
SpR in Emergency Medicine
Hope Hospital
Salford
England
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-----Original Message-----
From: Rowland Cottingham <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 13 May 1999 21:29
Subject: Major incidents
>We had a major incident in the town 2 days ago. At least, Fire declared a
>major for a 12 pump fire in a cosmetics factory with about 100 people
>being evacuated.
>
>But I was always taught that if one service declares a major, everyone
>else follows suit. I have to say that it would have been a farce to
>declare a major in health terms with no admissions as a result of the
>incident, but in case anyone else is labouring under the same
>misapprehension as I was - it ain't necessarily so.
>
>/Rowley./
>
>
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