A test of the Fire Evacuation procedure at St Mary’s Hospital is taking place this evening (Monday) between 18:45 and 20:45.
The Isle of Wight NHS Trust, including the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service, and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service are ‘category one’ emergency responders to major incidents. It is a statutory requirement that ‘category one’ responders test their ability to respond to major incidents.
Tonight’s incident will involve mannequins as ‘patients’ including the ambulance service high tech mannequins which exhibit symptoms. One member of staff will play the role of a patient in a wheelchair.
The scenario involves the outbreak of a fire and the evacuation of ward areas on Level C, the highest part of St Mary’s. The OHPiT Ward & Discharge Lounge will be used as the wards to be evacuated from. During the exercise the left-hand lift will be available for public use whilst the right hand side lift will be used for the exercise.
Alan Sheward, Executive Director for Nursing at Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“It is important that we test our systems for responding to an incident involving fire. We will do this whilst offering as near normal service for real patients and we will endeavour to minimise any inconvenience to patients and visitors who we hope will understand the need for us to undertake this important exercise.”
Councillor Phil Jordan, Executive Member for Public Health, Public Protection and PFI, said:
“It is extremely important that our Fire and Rescue Service personnel and resilience processes are tested regularly, so that we can ensure a high quality service is achieved in the event of a real-life incident. It is also really positive to see our emergency services working closely together on this realistic test scenario, further bolstering relationships across Island responders”.
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