A LIVE emergency exercise tomorrow will test how Barnsley Hospital would respond if a bomb went off in the town centre.
The simulation, called Exercise Escorial, revolves around an explosion caused by incendiary devices in a busy town. In the scenario, a large number of adults and children are hurt and have to be taken to hospital with a variety of injuries.
Barnsley College is supplying volunteer ‘victims’ who will wear theatrical make-up to simulate injuries.
Those in the explosion are also contaminated by a toxic substance, and the services use specialised decontamination equipment which can shower off and clean up to 60 people per hour.
The exercise will take place on Tuesday outside the hospital’s emergency department on Gawber Road and will run until 12.30pm.
Mike Lees, head of business security for Barnsley Hospital, said the exercise was created from a mix of real and fictitious information. It has taken staff a year to prepare and train, and involves more than a dozen agencies including Yorkshire Ambulance Service, Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Police and Barnsley College.
Mike said: “Obviously, we can’t be too specific about the details or we would lose the elements of reality and dynamic response. On the other hand, we can’t hold these kinds of exercises with no notice. The hospital must hold a live exercise every three years as part of its national legal duties and it is important that we are properly prepared for a major incident, not only in how we operate independently as a hospital but in partnership working with all the other agencies.”
Because the exercise is being held immediately outside the emergency department, the front of the hospital will be unavailable for car parking or public access until 12.30pm. There will be minimum impact on the regular work of the emergency department.
Alternative parking will be available in any of the other hospital car parks including car park two at the top of Summer Lane. Extra parking for clients with disabilities will be available in the area to the left of the main hospital reception and additional security officers and volunteers will be on duty to assist. Gawber Road will remain open for cars and pedestrians, but other vehicles may be parked along the road towards Wilthorpe.
