Multi agency working

Yesterday saw me at a meeting of the Poole Harbour Islands Safety Group. We meet twice a year to discuss issues and problems facing the inhabitants of the islands. There are around twenty full time inhabitants this number can swell to over two thousand when the visitors decend on Brownsea Island.
Just because you live on a island doesn't mean you don't get ill, suffer accidents or other emergencies. You can still.be a victim of crime or have a fire. The inhabitants still dial 999 , 111, 101 or contact their GP in the same way that you and I do. They also expect the same level.of service although all realise the logistics of living on an island will impact on this. So this is where the PHISG comes in to ensure as responding agencies have robust plans in place to respond to the island communities.
The group is made of of the emergencies services , island owners and staff, the harbour commsioners  and other interested parties. Good progress is being made with all the inhabited Islands now having defibrillators and training , fire fighting equipment and training. The plans produced by both the islands and the responders are reviewed and in the new year we will be holding a table top exercise to validate these plans and seek improvements. 
Planning is well underway for this and it should prove to be an interesting  day for all involved.

Stay safe and remember Xmas is coming.

Training and rain

This week saw CBRN refresher training and this weekend as operational officer for East Dorset.
It's already been a busy day across the patch with hospital handover delays and heavy rain adding to the mix.
As I write this it is throwing it down outside and according to the forecast it is set to get worse overnight please make sure you drive to the conditions.
As much as our crews are a friendly bunch they would rather not meet you.
As you know I have a couple of pet hates drink driving and mobile phone use while driving, this week has seen a concerted national campaign to highlight the dangers of mobile phone use while driving with multiple prosecutions across the country.
You take the keys off someone you think is drunk but not a mobile phone? Both can lead to fatal events and the sooner people realise this the sooner our roads may become safer.
As always stay safe

Remembering

My thoughts this week are for all those involved in several tragic incidents across the country, those who have lost their lives, those that are left behind and those who attend as part of their job to protect and save us.
As part of a service which provides this care I feel incredibly proud of those who I work with, across all of the responding agencies and not to be forgotten the voluntary groups who provide hours of support both during an incident and after it.
The time after an incident can be the most difficult to deal with both for the victims , their families and the bereaved. It can be months years , if ever that people begin to come to terms with the tragic events they have been exposed to.
You may have noticed that I didn't include the responders in that group; "Its our job" , "I'm OK" and similar are often heard. This is not the case and we are just as likely to affected by an incident as anyone else Our green superman or whatever colour uniform you wear does not make us invincible!
All agencies have in place a support network to enable staff to speak to someone if they have been affected by a incident or things that may have built up over a period of time.
It is not weak, it is not failure, it is not brave to bottle things up. In fact it is the complete opposite to recognise that you need to talk to someone and ask for help.
Using the old British Telecom line again "It's good to talk"
Today is also Remembrance Sunday and will see those who have fallen in conflicts across the ages and the world remembered for their sacrifice. Included in this will be all those from the emergency services who lost their lives while doing their job and protecting us.

Please take a moment to remember all those who have given their lives to protect us whether during conflict or on home soil.

For The Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Robert Binyon, 1869-1943

Thank you have a good week and stay safe.

A bit of a rant

Another week nearer to Christmas!!!
This week has been a contrast in days frosty starts and sunny days. One day hardly a phone call the next the phone practically red hot.
Wednesday was a chilled day with the normal things to deal with  staff welfare deployment issues, liaising with hospitals and attending incidents. Thursday right from early doors the phone did not stop ringing, not content with using our dedicated duty officer number, my normal work phone was busy to.
The clocks going back means darker evenings, and despite it actually being dark I still cyclists without lights. Please if you are a cyclists or know a cyclist please , please make sure you have lights, bright clothing and a helmet.
As those of you who know my real pet hate is drivers using mobile phones. I'm sorry but nothing is that important that you need to use your phone while driving. Drink driving is considered socially unacceptable so why do people consider the use of a phone to be OK?
My personal view is; caught using your phone while driving equals a automatic 28 day driving ban and a retest. Would that be enough of a deterrent? I think so.
We all need to remember that driving is a privilege not a right and we all need to do our bit to contribute to safer roads.

Rant over! Stay safe