Emergency Preparedness and Response

Training and related emergency response activities of the HPA

As part of its core function, the Health Protection Agency works with national and international partners to ensure that health care professionals are able to respond to emergencies, including the deliberate or accidental release of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear substances. Emergency preparedness specialists embedded throughout the agency play an important role in training and exercising the health care community.

On behalf of the Department of Health, training courses and exercises are delivered every year throughout the UK to develop resilience across the health care community. The HPA has been successful in bidding for contracts to design and deliver exercise and training programmes for the World Health Organisation (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organisation (UNFAO), European Commission, the European Centre for Prevention and Disease Control (ECDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The HPA is also involved in horizon scanning for new and emerging threats and developing and maintaining its plans and protocols for responses to health emergencies at local, regional and national level. The Microbial Risk Assessment group provides the HPA with the evidence based risk assessment capability to advise other organisations on policy, contingency planning and public health countermeasures in relation to new and emerging infectious disease threats and bioterrorism.

Five booklets outlining the key elements of the HPA's emergency preparedness and response function have been published and are available on request from Lynsey Thorp (lynsey.thorp@hpa.org.uk).