National Audit Office report shows gaps in emergency planning

A fifth of NHS hospital and ambulance trusts in England are inadequately prepared to cope with major terrorist incidents, warned a report published by the National Audit Office last week.

The report found that the NHS was well prepared to cope with previously encountered major incidents, such as rail and plane crashes, but that many hospital and ambulance trusts did not have adequate plans to deal with a major biological, chemical, or nuclear attack. Information was collected from surveys of all …