AC's Guide How To Keep Safe In The Event Of A Terrorist Attack

I felt compelled to write a quick guide sheet for my fellow AC's. Britain has had quite a few frequent terrorist attacks of late and it does have an impact on us   as it can happen anytime, anywhere and you could be out and about with a resident or a group of residents and what would you do?

Please continue to take your residents out and about as normal.

It is worth some thought and planning and when you do your risk assessments you should factor this in so everyone knows what to do  to stay safe.  

Factors To Consider-

Contingency Plan- When planning your away days think of places of refuge you can assemble to in the area in case of an emergency. Especially if a lot of residents are in  wheel chair's.

Phone- Always have your phone with you, make sure you all have of  each other's numbers if your are with your colleagues. If you are on your own doing a 121 then stay in contact with the home and emergency services.

Communication- Always let everyone in the group know where you will be with your residents if you all split up in an area. Also plan a meeting place if you get separated.  

Appoint A Coordinator- If anything where to happen appoint someone to be the main point of contact for everyone to contact in the first instance and they then can confirm everyone whereabouts and report it back.

Ratio- Make sure the correct ratio of people are with each person allocated to  help. So for example, one person to 3 residents.

Run-

“Run to a place of safety. This is a far better option than to surrender or negotiate,” Nactso say. 

• Escape if you can
• Consider the safest options
• Is there a safe route? RUN if not HIDE
• Can you get there without exposing yourself to greater danger?
• Insist others leave with you
• Leave belongings behind

Hide-

“It’s better to hide than to confront. Remember to turn your phone to silent and turn off vibrate. Barricade yourself in if you can,” the advice says.

• If you cannot RUN, HIDE
• Find cover from gunfire
• If you can see the attacker, they may be able to see you
• Cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal
• Find cover from gunfire e.g. substantial brickwork / heavy reinforced walls
• Be aware of your exits
• Try not to get trapped
• Be quiet, silence your phone and turn off vibrate
• Lock / barricade yourself in
• Move away from the door

Tell-

Tell the police by calling 999.

• Call 999 - What do the police need to know? If you cannot speak or make a noise listen to the instructions given to you by the call taker
• Location - Where are the suspects?
• Direction - Where did you last see the suspects?
• Descriptions – Describe the attacker, numbers, features, clothing, weapons etc.
• Further information – Casualties, type of injury, building information, entrances, exits, hostages etc.
• Stop other people entering the building if it is safe to do so.

Reassurance-

With the constant news feeds this can spread panic and fear among residents so keep it real and allow your residents to share how they feel and reassure them they are kept safe at all times.

You can also download an app that tells you what to do  if you ever found yourself in a situation the link is here-

 

http://citizenaid.org

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Wishing you all well and until next time keep shining and be safe.
Love,
Ann Marie xxx