Assignment brief Assignment title | Scene Preservation and Health and Safety | Assessor | Paula Gardner / Daniel Holland | Date issued | w/c 7th December 2015 | Hand in deadline | 15th January 2016 | Duration (approx) | 8 hours | | Qualification covered | QCF BTEC Level 3 National in Public Services | Units covered | Unit 14: Responding to Emergency Service Incidents | Learning aims/outcomes covered | 3. Understand the necessity for scene preservation at emergency incidents4. Be able to review health and safety considerations during an emergency response incident scenario | | Scenario | As a new recruit you must submit evidence for your portfolio to pass your probation period. You must complete a report describing the necessity of scene preservation and assessing the health and safety at a given scenario. | | Task 1P5, M2 | Word processed report describing the necessity of scene preservationYou must include a description of the following: * need for accident investigation eg serious and fatal road traffic collisions; * need for fire investigation eg malicious and suspicious ignitions; * role of Health and Safety Executive eg accidents in the workplace; * British Transport Police eg accidents on the railways, trains and the underground network; You must also describe why security for scene preservation including use of cordons is important and how it is carried out.Scene preservation for evidence collection: need for scene preservation eg to establish cause, to identify damage, to gather information to prevent further incidents; crime scene investigation eg use of photographs, video, forensics, witness testimony.You should explain how scene preservation and the service provision of specialist units, such as the Health and Safety Executive, contribute to the accident/incident investigation. So how do these help the investigations and why is it so important to investigations. | | | Task 2P6, M3, D2 | Word processed report assessing the health and safety at a given scenarioYou must look at a given scenario and assess which of the following is needed:Self-preservation : specialist clothing eg high visibility clothing, footwear, eye protection, head protection, glovesScene safety measures: warning signs, barriers, cones; road closures and diversionsConsideration for public welfare: eg use of the media to warn the public, warning the public about possible delays to public transport, warning the public about congestion; ensuring scene is safe and will not affect the local environment and its citizensDangers at the scene : chemical spillage eg hazardous chemicals (HazChem warning system); electrical cables; railways and railway crossings; fires eg persons trapped, smoke inhalation, evacuation; bombs and explosive devices eg bomb warnings, targets, terrorist activity, searching, evacuation.You must explain which pieces of law make these steps necessary. Laws to consider include :Legislation and regulations : impact of legislation and regulations; Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, including any subsequent amendments of legislation, the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH); Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCPs)You should provide a review of why it is important to ensure personal safety and that of others when attending emergency service incident. You should relate responses to relevant legislation where appropriate. This means stating why it’s important to protect staff and public and if it’s necessary to protect staff and public. You must demonstrate an understanding of the key legislation and regulations and evaluate how they impact on workers attending emergency incidents. A detailed knowledge of the legislation and regulations is not required.You must state what the strengths and weaknesses are of having these laws and regulations. You must give case studies to back up your points. You must recommendations for change and then make an overall judgement of whether these laws are helpful or not to public service staff. | Evidence you must produce for this task | * Word processed report describing the necessity of scene preservation and assessing the health and safety at a given scenario | Criteria covered by this task: | To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to: | Unit | Criterion reference | Describe the necessity for scene preservation units at emergency incidents as part of an incident investigation | 14 | P5 | Assess the health and safety measures to be taken to ensure personal safety and that of others when attending an emergency incident scenario, with reference to the relevant health and safety legislation. | 14 | P6 | Explain how scene preservation contributes to an accident/incident investigation | 14 | M2 | Review the need for measures to be taken to ensure personal safety and that of others when attending an emergency incident scenario, with reference to relevant health and safety legislation | 14 | M3 | Evaluate the impact of health and safety measures on services responding to an emergency incident scenario with reference to relevant health and safety legislation | 14 | D2 | | Sources of information | TextbooksHutton G, McKinnon G and Fraser S – Blackstone’s Police Manual 2010 Volume 4: General Police Duties 2010(Blackstone’s Police Manuals) (Oxford University Press, 2009) ISBN 0199576041/9780199576043Home Office – Roadcraft: The Essential Police Driver’s Handbook (The Stationery Office, 2007)ISBN 0117021687/9780117021686Johnston D and Hutton G – Blackstone’s Police Manual Volume 2: Evidence and Procedure 2010 (Blackstone’sPolice Manuals) (Oxford University Press, 2009) ISBN 0199576025/9780199576029JournalsCJS NowFireParamedicPolice LifePolice ProfessionalPolice ReviewThe Sharp EndViewWebsitesConstabulary Magazine www.constabulary.org.ukEmergency Services Press www.emergencyservicespress.co.ukFire service www.fireservice.co.ukHealth and Safety Executive www.hse.gov.ukThe Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh www.fireservicecollege.ac.uk |

P5

It is very important that all emergency services who attend preserve the scene, this is for a number of reasons. One of the most important reasons is that the scene needs to be preserved and remain the same as it was originally, this is in order to collect evidence so that the person who has committed the crime is found.
It is also very important that in all accidents that happen the scene is kept the same as possible this because sometimes a house fire for example could be seen an accident when I could in fact be arson.
When the ambulance service turn up to a scene it can be very hard for them to ensure the safety of the people involved as well as ensuring that the scene stays preserved but their main objective is to ensure that all people who are involved are in a save position and are receiving medical treatment if needed.

Evidence can be gathered in many different ways, these include

* Videos * Photographs * Forensics * Witness Statements

When a road traffic collision happens it is automatically seen as a crime scene. As a result of this the police force must take measures in order to secure the area and prevent any evidence being tampered with. They do this so the evidence remains the same so they can find out what happened.

It is very important that the police force take the correct procedures when preventing a crime scene because if any evident is lost this can cause many problems for the police force as the person who is to blame may not be prosecuted or held account for damages as they might not have the appropriate evidence to do so. To stop this from happening the public services personal must not do anything that could contaminate the scene, this could be something simple like moving things around as their DNA would now be on the crime scene, resulting in making the job for the specialist units such as the SOCO more difficult.

In some cases other units may be called to attened the incident, for example if the scene involved a fire the fire investigation teams would be in attendance in order to investigate whether the fire was started on purpose or not.

There are also other things that must be taken into consideration when preserving the incident, these include:

* Property left at the scene * Broken Glass * Fibres on clothes * Footprints * Finger prints

The Police Force must cordon the area of the scene in order to keep people put who could potentially contaminate or destroy any evidence. This is a barrier used to surround the scene of the incident to restrict access by the general public too. This can be done by using tape, rope or barriers.

P6

It is hugely important that emergency responders protect themselves in the correct way in order to protect themselves from potential hazards and dangers, if they fail to do so they are putting themselves at risk.
Apart from the normal day to day uniform many of the public services have specialist protective clothing/equipment to protect themselves from many of the dangers that the emergency incident pose. All of the emergency services have to wear high visibility jackets to ensure that they can be seen at all time and easily, for example when there has been an incident they can be seen by the people involved quickly.

Police Service PPE | Ambulance Service PPE | Fire Service PPE | Goggles/visors | Protective overalls where there is a risk of severe contamination | Fire-fighting suits, gloves and boots | Specialist riot gear and shields for public order incidents | Disposable overalls where this is a risk of splashing with blood or body fluids | Fire-fighting suits, gloves and boots | Protective headwear | Protective eyewear where there is a risk that blood, body fluids or dirt may get into the eyes | Protective headwear for fire-fighting and building collapse | High Visibility jackets | Ear defenders/protection where there are noise hazards | Visors/goggles | In the event of an emergency, emergency service workers have a duty of care for themselves and the people around them. If a scene is not made safe it is a possibility that someone could be hurt. In order to make the scene as safe as possible the emergency services personnel must do the following things:

Portable Barriers – This is a very good way of protecting the people around the scene as it stops people going into the scene where they could potentially get hurt, it is also a good way of preserving the scene.

Warning signs of an incident ahead – This must be put up miles in advance of the incident, it is a good way of telling the general public that an accident has taken place and ensures they to stay away stopping any more accidents.

Cones- Cones can be used effectively to move traffic into a particular lane or to close a lane of a motorway in advance of an accident ahead.

Road closures or diversions- These are sometimes necessary because of the urgent and dangerous nature of an incident.
The emergency services are governed by legislation and regulations relating to their health and safety at work. The legislation that they are governed by is designed and put in place to protect the emergency service workers and their colleagues from injury and hazards while whilst they are on duty.

Health and Safety Act 1974:

“All workers have a right to work in places where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Health and safety is about stopping you getting hurt at work or ill through work. Your employer is responsible for health and safety, but you must help”.

M3

Chemical Spillage

If an accident that has happened involves a chemical spillage it can be very dangerous to the public but also the environment. If there are harsh chemicals the public services need to know as they know what course of action to take to prevent it becoming a danger to the public and the environment. Before the public services can do anything thought they must do the following things:

* Evacuate the site and if necessary any nearby buildings or areas. * Tackle the fire or try to control the spills/leaks

Electric Cables Electrical Cables run above and below throughout the UK carrying thousands of volts of electricity. Often overhead cables can be brought down by storms, air accidents and train derailments. The public services must ensure that they take the appropriate safety measures when dealing with a situation like this because for example if someone has fallen onto a live railway track the ambulance service must ensure the safety of the victim and also the people around. The ambulance services must ensure that the cables are no longer live and they must try and save the person’s life. The PPE that the ambulance must ensure they wear when dealing with situations like these are protective head gear etc.

Railways and Railway Crossings – There are thousands of miles of railways within the UK and more than 9000 level crossing. Accidents that happen on railways are quite frequent and they are very similar to electrical cables. When dealing with an accident that has taken place on a railway the public services must ensure that they sake the appropriate actions in order to protect themselves but also the people around them. Before the ambulance service and the fire service can start to work the police force must ensure that the electricity is turned off.

Fires- Fires are one of the biggest causes of deaths in the world so it is very important that the public services know what to do when one arises. Fires are very dangerous as people can become trapped inside of a building and also they can breathe in toxic smoke that can cause them to lose consciousness. In situations such as house fires it is vital that the fire services wear their PPE, these include firefighting suits, gloves, boots, protective headwear and self-contained breathing apparatus’. The fire service must make sure that they take the appropriate measures because they are putting themselves in a life threating position.

D2

When the three main public services are called to major incidents where they are going to have to rescue and treat the victims that have been involved, they have to ensure that they abide by and follow the health and safety measures that are stated by the HASAWA (Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.) The HASAWA sets a basic set of principles that need to be followed by both employees and employers to ensure that there is a safe working environment by protecting the health, safety and welfare of people at work, protecting others against risks to health or safety in connection with activities of the employees at work, and controlling the keeping, use and possession of dangerous substances.
There are a variety of advantages and disadvantages to this act. An advantage of the act is that it reduces the risk of the emergency response workers becoming a part of the situation that they have been called to. For example, during the July 2007 bombings when there was a bomb that had exploded on an underground train, the fire service needed to walk down the railway tracks to be able to get to the train where there were a lot of people that needed emergency treatment in order to save their lives, but because they could not be totally sure that the lines were no longer live, they would have been putting themselves at risk of becoming a victim in the already potentially fatal circumstances. The Health and Safety Act states that ‘workers need to protect other people and themselves against risks arising from work activities’, and so if they had gone against the health and safety act then they would be breaching it and they could face prosecution for not abiding by the legislation and even more seriously, they could have potentially killed themselves by going onto live railway tracks. I feel that this is an advantage of the of the act because it enables the emergency services to carry out their job effectively because they are taking appropriate precautions and measures before they start to treat the wounded and so protects them from worsening the incident that they are dealing with.

Although, a disadvantage of the act is that because the emergency services have to ensure that they abide by this legislation, it means that people that are stuck in the incident that could have not been their fault, lose their lives because the emergency services have to ensure that they take their precautions and measures before they start to treat people and sometimes with lack of communication between services, this can take a long time. During the 7/7 bombings, it was reported that the emergency services were extremely slow in getting to the wounded victims that had been involved in the bombings. The ambulance service need to get permission and need to get the correct information on that situation that is standing before they start to treat people that have been involved because they need to ensure that they are going to be safe whilst they are carrying out their job. Whilst it is important that the emergency services are safe whilst they are doing their job, there are hundreds of people that could be losing their lives whilst they are trying to get the appropriate information that they need to be able to carry out their job effectively. The Health and Safety Act ultimately slows down the process of saving people’s lives because they have to follow a range of different rules and regulations before they can actually start to do their job. To improve this in the future, all of the emergency services that are called to the incident, for example, a tube station that has been bombed, could get the information ready for when the ambulance service arrive and make sure it is safe for them to work on their arrival so that the Health and Safety act is adhered to and so that the lives of those that are at risk are can be treated quicker and saved from a fatal incident.

Additionally, an advantage of the Health and Safety act is that because the emergency services follow the Health and Safety Act so thoroughly, it means that there will be fewer accidents that will happen whilst they are working and therefore it creates a safe working environment for all of the emergency response workers to work as a team efficiently. One of the most vital parts of dealing with serious incidents that The Police, Ambulance and Fire Service are called to is being able to work effectively and quickly as a team. For example, if there was a serious car collision on a motorway and the fire service was first to the scene, they need to ensure that they make the scene safe for the police and the ambulance service to be able to do their job as soon as they arrive. If the fire service didn’t take the appropriate safety measures, for example, making sure that there was no risk of any more fatalities and ensuring that the scene was safe for the ambulance service to administer treatment to those who need it and for the police to start their investigation on what caused the incident, then the injured people that have been involved in the accident would lose their lives because of the lack of communication and teamwork between the services. The Health and Safety Act ensures that there is a safe working environment for the police, ambulance and fire service to be able to work together as a team effectively so that lives can be saved.

Finally, a disadvantage of the Health and Safety Act is that it even when the emergency response officers know that they would be able to save lives, they have to make sure that all safety measures are taken to ensure ultimate safety of themselves and the victims that need help, this means that lives that could have been saved quickly were not because of the fact that the services have to ensure that they abide by the legislation. During the 7/7 bombings, police officers were able to confirm for fire fighters that the lines on the underground were not live by standing on them, but this was not good enough evidence for the Health and Safety Act and so the fire fighters refused to go down to the train were there were multiple wounded commuters meaning that lives were lost, when they could have been saved. Even though the services have a duty of care to the public, they have a duty of care to themselves as well, so they have to think about the welfare of themselves as well as the well-being of those that are in need of help. I believe that this is a disadvantage because if a life can be saved, I believe that the services should go above and beyond to ensure that the lives of the innocent victims should be saved. I feel that the Health and Safety Act makes it hard for the public services in certain scenarios to be able to provide their service to the highest quality because they have to take a lot of safety measures before they can actually begin doing their job.

In conclusion, I feel that the Health and Safety Act is vital for the public services because it ensures that they are actually able to do their job whilst caring for the well-being of the victims and also themselves, but I also believe that it hinders the public services job as well because in some cases, lives could have been saved but because of Health and Safety, they were unable to get straight on with doing their job because they had to ensure that they were safe before they did anything. In my opinion, I believe that the public services need to ensure that they are safe as well as making the dreadful situation for the victims safe and so the Health and Safety Act ensures this and makes a good work environment for the public services to work together to provide their services at the high standards that they are supposed to.