Voluntary organisations agree a protocol for emergencies

Government office for London’s London Resilience Team facilitates a Voluntary Subcommittee that sits under the London Regional Resilience Forum, which meets to ensure that if an incident happens, voluntary organisations are well-prepared and able to work together in a co-ordinated way.

14 June 2006 marked a significant step forward for members of the Voluntary Sector Subcommittee. In response to lessons of the 7 July bombings, key representatives from across the voluntary sector gathered at Riverwalk House to sign a protocol outlining the roles and responsibilities of their respective organisations during an emergency. Written by the Voluntary Sector Subcommittee, the protocol was signed by Department for Communities and Local Government Minister Phil Woolas, together with British Red Cross, CRUSE (Bereavement care), Disaster Action, The Salvation Army, St John Ambulance, Victim Support and the WRVS (formerly the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service).

One of the unexpected issues that surfaced following the 7 July attacks was funding. There was some confusion regarding how much reimbursement voluntary organisations could expect to receive for the role they played; this was one of the issues covered in the protocol.

Each of the organisations involved in the voluntary sector response is clearly committed to providing the best possible support to the people of London, and to partnership-working. There’s no better example of the value of joint-working than the Family Assistance Centre.

On 7 July, Disaster Action was involved in setting up the centre and providing ongoing support to the management group there. At the same time, Victim Support and Cruse Bereavement Care provided care to the victims, while WRVS provided refreshments for those visiting. Salvation Army co-ordinated the Faith response, providing emotional and practical response to the bereaved. St. John Ambulance and British Red Cross provided personnel at the incident sites in support of London Ambulance Service. St. John Ambulance also set up water stations to assist those who walked to main line stations and manned First Aid Posts at the stations.

But these extraordinary commitments do not override the fact that each organisation is an independent volunteer charity with individual objectives, management structures, working methods and funding streams. So the protocol is a real milestone for ensuring expectations are managed and a professional approach is taken to co-ordinating such major responses in the future.

For further information about London Resilience Team and the Protocol contact Becky Drake on 020 7217 3670