asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the major accident plan which is in being to deal with major accidents in the event of their occurring; and if he will outline any specific plans drawn up to deal with specific disasters that could occur such as a train carrying toxic chemicals crashing and releasing such chemicals into the atmosphere or a major motorway or air disaster.
Written Answers. - Accident Plan.
34.
There is a number of emergency plans in being to deal with the different categories of emergency which might arise. These are as follows: plan for dealing with major emergencies in peace-time, under the aegis of the Department of the Environment; plan for dealing with major emergencies in a war-time situation, under the aegis of the Department of Defence; plan for dealing with peacetime radiological accidents, under the aegis of the Department of Energy; plan for dealing with accidents involving the transport of dangerous goods by rail, under the aegis of the Department of Tourism and Transport; and plan for dealing with major accident hazards of certain industrial activities, under the aegis of the Department of Labour.
Within the context of these plans each health board has developed its own plan for the specific response of the health services should a major emergency occur.
The role of the health boards involve, the provision of medical assistance, ambulance transport and casualty evacuation, hospital treatment and community medical and welfare services.
I am happy to say that the health plans have worked extremely well on those occasions where unfortunately they had to be implemented. They are kept under regular review and are up-dated on a regular basis in the light of experience in this country and abroad. Also, regular exercises are held to ensure that staff are fully familiar with their roles under the plan and that the necessary equipment is in a high state of readiness.