Guidance

Emergency planning for specific types of major incidents

Emergency planning involves making NHS contingency plans and preparing for specific types of major incidents.

• From: Department of Health and Social Care
• Published: 25 June 2012

Documents

Download Pre-Hospital Guidelines for the Emergency Treatment of Deliberate or Accidental Release of Hydrogen Cyanide (PDF, 202K)

PDF, 201 KB, 16 pages

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Details

The following current guidelines for action in the event of a deliberate release of certain chemical agents are being highlighted to NHS ambulance services.

Pre-hospital guidelines for the emergency treatment of deliberate release of organophosphorous (OP) nerve agents

The nerve agents are a group of particularly toxic chemical warfare agents. They are chemically related to organophosphorous insecticides. The principle agents in this group are tabun (GA), soman (GD), sarin (GB), GF and VX. A small drop of liquid nerve agent on the skin may be sufficient to cause death. Nerve agents may be absorbed by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin.

This standard of care has been developed to ensure that the NHS Ambulance Services offer an appropriate standard of care to patients in the event of a deliberate release of organophosphorous (OP) nerve agents.

This standard of care has been developed to ensure that the NHS Ambulance Services offer an appropriate standard of care to patients in the event of a deliberate or accidental release of hydrogen cyanide.

Published 25 June 2012