Emergency Response and Resilience – British Red Cross

• Responding in emergencies
• Supporting communities
• Working with existing volunteers
• Roles for spontaneous volunteers

The British Red Cross helps vulnerable people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. Throughout the UK, the charity supports the police, ambulance and fire services by providing practical help and emotional support to people affected by emergencies.

Whether it is a small-scale incident, such as a domestic fire or road traffic accident, or after a major incident like a terrorist incident, such as the recent attacks on Glasgow airport, the Red Cross provide a wide range of services. These include offering first aid, transporting injured people and providing bedding, clothing and comfort at emergency centres.

Becoming an emergency response volunteer

The British Red Cross has 34,000 volunteers helping people through services such as, care in the home, therapeutic massage, first aid training and the provision of first aid cover at public events.

Emergency response volunteers are recruited from within the Red Cross’ existing pool of volunteers. This allows volunteers to use and practice their skills on a regular basis and transfer them across in times of emergency.

In this way the Red Cross has created a bank of 10,000 volunteers across the country available to respond to emergency situations. Before they take part they are CRB checked and receive training in:

• what happens in an emergency
• the role of the emergency services
• the basic tasks the Red Cross carry out in emergency rest centres, such as the registration of individuals, first aid, and comfort to those who may be distressed.

At the front-line

By its nature, a major incident will stretch the resources of the emergency services. Any one emergency may involve people who are trapped, missing, severely or slightly injured, evacuees, as well as relatives and friends who are directly or indirectly caught up in the incident.

It is here that organisations like the Red Cross provide a vital role in supporting the emergency services at the scene of an incident. Following the July 7 bombings in 2005, the Red Cross, at the request of the London Ambulance Service, sent ambulances to the four incident sites in the capital. Trained volunteers provided first aid and comfort to the ‘walking wounded’ - people who had been hurt, but who were not seriously injured. This allowed the ambulance service to concentrate on dealing with casualties who had the most serious injuries.

Dave Morris was a Red Cross volunteer who helped people affected by the explosion at Aldgate. Dave recalls: “They were shocked and traumatised and needed some space to recover. We treated four people, providing oxygen to those suffering from smoke inhalation. We were there to help anyone whether it was medical care or just friendly support.”

Following a major incident, such as a train crash or evacuation, an emergency rest centre may be opened to help people directly affected by the incident. These are run by local authorities using a school, leisure centre or other available building. Organisations like the Red Cross, WRVS, St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army will usually provide support to local authority staff in pre-identified roles.

For example, the WRVS may supply catering whilst the Red Cross takes on the role of registering individuals and providing emotional support. At the rest centre the volunteers may be called on to give practical help, such as providing people with beds, linen, or clean clothes. It may also involve collecting prescription medication for someone with an existing medical condition.

In this way, voluntary organisations can play a vital role, as they allow the emergency services to concentrate on the incident and those who may be in need of urgent medical assistance or rescue.

Andrew Dunn, emergency planning officer, West Midlands National Health Service, said: "The British Red Cross offers integral support to the health and welfare of our communities, providing a 24-hour on-call service and acting as a uniting factor in the response of other voluntary agencies. We would be less well prepared if we did not have their support."

When an emergency goes on for some time, such as the recent floods across England, it’s important to make sure that volunteers are not exhausted. The Red Cross monitors how much time an individual is spending volunteering and ensures that they have regular periods of rest.

At the same time, in order to ensure that the Red Cross response can continue, volunteers from neighbouring areas are drafted in as part of a pre-arranged agreement.

After emergencies there are often spontaneous volunteers – people who turn up and offer to help there and then. This presents a challenge for voluntary organisations. The beneficiaries in emergency situations may be distressed and potentially vulnerable. Using volunteers without the necessary skills, training or experience may create problems

The Red Cross, along with other organisations, is currently looking at how best to make use of the commitment and compassion of spontaneous volunteers, without compromising the quality and the safety of the service they offer.

Further information

Tony Thompson
Head of UK Emergency Response and Resilience British Red Cross UK Office
44 Moorfields
London EC2Y 9AL

07921 403 672

TonyThompson@redcross.org.uk