BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 METHOD:PUBLISH PRODID:-//Telerik Inc.//Sitefinity CMS 15.2//EN BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:British specialists in chemical\, biological\, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response and decontamination procedures shared their exper tise with 22 delegates from 5 European countries during a study visit\, or ganized by WHO\, to the National Health Service (NHS) Resilience Emergency Capabilities Unit at the United Kingdom&rsquo\;s Fire Service College.The event\, which was funded by the European Union\, through the EU4Health CB RN Action\, offered participants an in-depth look at the English ambulance service&rsquo\;s operational capability. Delegates from Estonia\, Hungary \, Lithuania\, Romania and Ukraine engaged with subject-matter experts\, o bserved live demonstrations and participated in discussions exploring inte rnational collaboration.The United Kingdom has experienced major public in cidents\, including terrorist attacks in Manchester and London in 2017\, a nd the 2018 Novichok nerve agent poisonings in Salisbury. Each response ha s called upon multiples agencies\, including police\, ambulance and fire s ervices. Based on lessons identified from statutory public enquiries into these incidents\, the United Kingdom has been working on systems to enhanc e the interoperability of their emergency services response\, equipment an d protocols\, with the aim of getting life-saving interventions to patient s as quickly as possible.Key insightsSpecialist paramedics speak to partic ipants about mass casualty management &ndash\; Moreton-in-Marsh Fire Servi ce College\, United Kingdom.A live CBRN decontamination demonstration of a &ldquo\;worst case CBRN scenario&rdquo\; offered delegates learning on ho w to set up decontamination facilities\, use personal protective equipment (PPE)\, and manage and triage casualties. The session provided a unique o pportunity to observe realistic operational conditions and the coordinated functioning of response teams.&ldquo\;One of the key insights from this s tudy trip was the realization of the importance of a systematic approach t o preparedness\, where the main focus is not only on response\, but also o n the constant maintenance of operational capacity through regular trainin g\, intersectoral interaction and clearly defined roles of each participan t in the process\,&rdquo\; said Tetiana Orafina\, Deputy Director of the P ublic Health Centre\, Ukraine.&ldquo\;I was impressed by the interagency w orking models\,&rdquo\; said Odeta Vitkūnienė\, Director of Personal Healt h Care\, Ministry of Health\, Lithuania. &ldquo\;Lithuania is doing a lot on preparedness\, but intersectoral decision-making is an area we can work on. International collaboration and the sharing of good practices improve our health system preparedness.&rdquo\;Scaling up skillsA demonstration o f a &ldquo\;wet&rdquo\; decontamination.Christian Cooper\, Associate Direc tor of the NHS Emergency Capabilities Unit explained that the demonstratio n staged during the visit was of a worst-case scenario\, &ldquo\;a big wet decontamination of a large number of people using the highest levels of P PE that we have&rdquo\;.&ldquo\;But those same staff are trained to go out every day and deal with chemical spills and industrial accidents. That&rs quo\;s routine for them\, so they&rsquo\;re simply scaling up a skill set that they already have\, and that allows us to make sure that they maintai n a good state of readiness for the wide range of incidents that they migh t face.&rdquo\;He added: &ldquo\;Having health professionals with a lot of experience from a very diverse range of health systems and economies acro ss Europe come and see what we&rsquo\;re doing but also comment on and com pare it to what they do and see where the gaps may be in both our response s\, is absolutely invaluable&rdquo\;.The expert group at the NHS emergency training site.&ldquo\;WHO continues to advance CBRN preparedness and resp onse across the Region. The United Kingdom&rsquo\;s leadership and commitm ent to partnership underscore the vital role of European knowledge exchang e and cooperation in developing interoperable CBRN standards\,&rdquo\; sai d Kamal Akbarov\, Technical Office CBRN\, WHO Country Office in Ukraine.&l dquo\;The United Kingdom&rsquo\;s extensive CBRN experience offers practic al models and expertise that can be adapted and applied to support nationa l preparedness and response capacities\, strengthening collective health s ecurity across borders.&rdquo\; DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260423 DTSTAMP:20260506T223435Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260420 LOCATION:United Kingdom\,Fire Service College\, Moreton-in-Marsh SEQUENCE:0 SUMMARY:Sharing best practice on responding to chemical\, biological\, radi ological and nuclear events UID:RFCALITEM639137036758942923 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

British specialists in chemical\, biologica l\, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response and decontamination procedure s shared their expertise with 22 delegates from 5 European countries durin g a study visit\, organized by WHO\, to the National Health Service (NHS) Resilience Emergency Capabilities Unit at the United Kingdom&rsquo\;s Fire Service College.

The event\, which was funded by the European Union \, through the EU4Health CBRN Action\, offered participants an in-depth lo ok at the English ambulance service&rsquo\;s operational capability. Deleg ates from Estonia\, Hungary\, Lithuania\, Romania and Ukraine engaged with subject-matter experts\, observed live demonstrations and participated in discussions exploring international collaboration.

The United Kingd om has experienced major public incidents\, including terrorist attacks in Manchester and London in 2017\, and the 2018 Novichok nerve agent poisoni ngs in Salisbury. Each response has called upon multiples agencies\, inclu ding police\, ambulance and fire services. Based on lessons identified fro m statutory public enquiries into these incidents\, the United Kingdom has been working on systems to enhance the interoperability of their emergenc y services response\, equipment and protocols\, with the aim of getting li fe-saving interventions to patients as quickly as possible.

Key ins ights

Specialist paramedics speak to participants

Specialist paramedics speak to participants about mass casualty management &ndash\; Moreton-in-Marsh Fire Service College\, United Kingdom .

A live CBRN decontamination demonstration of a &ldquo\;worst case CBRN scenario&rdquo\; offered delegates learning on how to set up deconta mination facilities\, use personal protective equipment (PPE)\, and manage and triage casualties. The session provided a unique opportunity to obser ve realistic operational conditions and the coordinated functioning of res ponse teams.

&ldquo\;One of the key insights from this study trip wa s the realization of the importance of a systematic approach to preparedne ss\, where the main focus is not only on response\, but also on the consta nt maintenance of operational capacity through regular training\, intersec toral interaction and clearly defined roles of each participant in the pro cess\,&rdquo\; said Tetiana Orafina\, Deputy Director of the Public Health Centre\, Ukraine.

&ldquo\;I was impressed by the interagency workin g models\,&rdquo\; said Odeta Vitkūnienė\, Director of Personal Health Car e\, Ministry of Health\, Lithuania. &ldquo\;Lithuania is doing a lot on pr eparedness\, but intersectoral decision-making is an area we can work on. International collaboration and the sharing of good practices improve our health system preparedness.&rdquo\;

Scaling up skills

Emergen cy responders treating a patient inside a tent

A demonstration of a &ldquo\;wet&rdquo\; decontamination.

Christia n Cooper\, Associate Director of the NHS Emergency Capabilities Unit expla ined that the demonstration staged during the visit was of a worst-case sc enario\, &ldquo\;a big wet decontamination of a large number of people usi ng the highest levels of PPE that we have&rdquo\;.

&ldquo\;But those same staff are trained to go out every day and deal with chemical spills and industrial accidents. That&rsquo\;s routine for them\, so they&rsquo\; re simply scaling up a skill set that they already have\, and that allows us to make sure that they maintain a good state of readiness for the wide range of incidents that they might face.&rdquo\;

He added: &ldquo\;H aving health professionals with a lot of experience from a very diverse ra nge of health systems and economies across Europe come and see what we&rsq uo\;re doing but also comment on and compare it to what they do and see wh ere the gaps may be in both our responses\, is absolutely invaluable&rdquo \;.

Group of people in safety vests standing in a training site

The expert group at the NHS emergency training site .

&ldquo\;WHO continues to advance CBRN preparedness and response a cross the Region. The United Kingdom&rsquo\;s leadership and commitment to partnership underscore the vital role of European knowledge exchange and cooperation in developing interoperable CBRN standards\,&rdquo\; said Kama l Akbarov\, Technical Office CBRN\, WHO Country Office in Ukraine.

& ldquo\;The United Kingdom&rsquo\;s extensive CBRN experience offers practi cal models and expertise that can be adapted and applied to support nation al preparedness and response capacities\, strengthening collective health security across borders.&rdquo\;

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