Guide to emergency planning for community groups

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This guide provides advice to groups that want to help their communities cope better in an emergency and become more resilient by making a Community Emergency Plan together.

There are over 300 community emergency groups around Scotland and many more community groups have come together to support residents through recent coronavirus challenges. These resilient communities:

• Are aware of risks that may affect them and how those risks might impact local people.

Annex 1 – Acknowledgements

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The guidance has been developed from a wide range of Scottish, UK and international sources of expertise. These sources include work led by the Department of Health for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Joint Medical Committee and work conducted by the European Network for Traumatic Stress (TENTS) programme.

Caring for People Over Time

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4.1  Preparing in advance

Health Boards have an advisory role in the development of the psychosocial resilience and wellbeing of adults and children, families, communities, schools, workplaces and other groups through public mental health programmes.

Core Principles

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People who are thrown together in the aftermath of emergencies frequently respond with great fortitude and resilience. Statutory responders should recognise this and should actively promote the fullest participation of local, affected populations.

Definitions

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The term emergency is used throughout this document as it is defined in the Civil Contingencies Act (2004). It describes an emergency as:

• an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare
• an event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment or
• war or terrorism that threatens serious damage to security

Other terms are used as follows:

Psychosocial refers to the psychological, emotional, social and physical experiences of people in the context of emergencies.

Introduction

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The aim of this guidance is to assist Category 1 responder organisations to prepare and implement effective responses to the psychosocial and mental health needs of people who are affected by emergencies.

Questions to ask

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Although psychosocial problems may often be hidden during the aftermath of an emergency, it is important that responders are aware of this aspect of caring for people and are equipped to provide the appropriate support. The following questions can be used to prompt discussion about how well prepared responder agencies may be:

Responding to the Psychosocial and Mental Health Needs of People Affected by Emergencies

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Executive Summary

Emergencies and disasters can harm the health of people and communities in many ways. Often, the direct physical effects are readily seen, while the impacts on people’s mental health and wellbeing may be less obvious and are sometimes hidden. Minimising the suffering of individual people, families and communities, and averting the risk of emotional and psychological injury are important parts of the response to any emergency.

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