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Incident Management and Business Continuity Framework

Responsibility of the University SecretaryApproved by VCE July 2017Updated January 2019

ContentsSection A: Contacts in the event of an emergency...................................................................41 Who to call in the even to of an Emergency Contacts......................................................4

2 Location of Incident management plans and Business Continuity Plans:.........................43 BCM website.....................................................................................................................5

Section B:Introduction and background to Incident Management and Business Continuity.....64 Introduction.......................................................................................................................6

5 Objectives of the Incident Management and Business Continuity Framework.................66 Emergency planning.........................................................................................................7

7 Definitions.........................................................................................................................88 Priorities for business and continuity................................................................................8

9 Possible Consequences of emergencies..........................................................................8Section C:Command and Control.............................................................................................9

10 Responsibility in the event of an emergency....................................................................911 Communication Chain.....................................................................................................9

12 Strategic and Operational Control..................................................................................1013 Responsibilities of each level of command.....................................................................11

14 Alternates and Deputies..................................................................................................1115 Incident Management.....................................................................................................12

16 Escalation of incidents....................................................................................................1217 Contact lists.....................................................................................................................14

18 Categories of incidents..................................................................................................1419 Action Cards....................................................................................................................15

20 Emergency Related Procedures.....................................................................................1521 Helplines.........................................................................................................................15

22 Critical Services Calendar...............................................................................................1623 School/College and Central Service Department Business Continuity Plans.................16

24 Central Service Department Responsibilities..................................................................1724.1 Communications and Media.................................................................................17

24.2 IT Services............................................................................................................1724.3 Property Services..................................................................................................17

24.4 Space Planning and Accommodation...................................................................1824.5 Student Services...................................................................................................18

24.6 Registry.................................................................................................................1824.8 Finance.................................................................................................................18

25. Recovery of teaching and assessments......................................................................1926 Space for Incident Management Group and Business recovery teams.......................20

27 Training...........................................................................................................................2028 Review............................................................................................................................21

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28.1 Post-incident Reviews...........................................................................................2128.2 Maintenance & Test Schedule..............................................................................21

Appendix 1: Command level action cards..............................................................................22Appendix 2 Incident Categorisation..................................................................................25

Assessing Severity: impact, scale, and duration....................................................................25Appendix 3: Critical Services Calendar.............................................................................28

Appendix 4. The inter-relationship between recovery phases...........................................30Appendix 5: Property services severity ratings..................................................................31

Procedure 1: Fire and Evacuation Procedure for all staff – All Premises...........................32Procedure 2: Fire Checklist: Security procedures..............................................................33

Procedure 3: Re-Occupation of a Building..........................................................................35Procedure 4: Gas leaks – action for staff............................................................................36

Procedure 5: Security Evacuation (including bomb alerts)................................................38Procedure 6: Exposure to harmful substances...................................................................41

Procedure 7 Death of a student or staff member...............................................................42Procedure 8: Infectious Diseases...........................................................................................47

Procedure 9: Pandemic illness............................................................................................50Procedure 10: Lockdown procedures....................................................................................57

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Section A: Contacts in the event of an emergency

1 Who to call in the even to of an Emergency Contacts

In the event of an emergency such a fire, gas leak or other dangerous situation staff should call:

3333

This number is answered 24 hours a day.

In the event of a call, Security will assess situation and:

a) call the emergency services as necessary

b) Alert the key contact for the Department concerned:

i. Director of Property Services in the event of a fire, gas leak or property related emergency or security related incident;

ii. Chief Information Officer for IT related incidents;iii. Vice Chancellor’s Office during office hours where there is a major

emergency. iv. Out of working hours Security should call the nominated VCE

member in the event of a major emergency as required.

2 Location of Incident management plans and Business Continuity Plans:

Copies of the Incident Management response plans are held at SMR Main Reception, The Park Reception SMR, Paragon Reception, Villiers House and Fountain House Reception.

Each Major Incident Management Group Member (see Page 10 ) has a copy.

Battle bags with emergency equipment are held in all receptions in Villiers House, SMR, Paragon and Fountain House. Battle bags contain:

1 100m Condon Tapes (Hazard) 1 illuminated guide system, for marking safe routes and areas of danger 1 battery powered work/search lights. 1 White Coverall (Large Size) 1 Roll of Yellow/Black Hazard Tape 1 Set of Ear Muffs 10 Disposable Gloves 5 Paper Masks

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1 First Aid Kit 5 Shoe Covers 1 High Visibility Jacket (Large Size) 1 Calculator 5 Black Pens 3 Pencils 1 Spare Memory Stick 1 Note Book 1 Clipboard (Red) 1 Spare Plastic Folder 1 Loud Horn 1 Torch with 2 Batteries + 2 extra Batteries 1 Pair of Plastic goggles 1 Yellow Helmet 1 Loud Haler with 4 Batteries and 4 extra Batteries 1 Colour plastic wallet containing hard copies of BCM Data 1 Colour Memory Stick containing BCM Data

3 BCM website

The University has established a BCMS website https://bcm.uwl.ac.uk . The information it contains has been grouped into general (accessible to anyone viewing the webpages), specific (access restricted to University students and/or staff), and operational (access restricted to those University employees with BC responsibilities for managing major disruptive incidents and events through to recovery).

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https://bcm.uwl.ac.uk/

Section B: Introduction and background to Incident Management and Business Continuity

4 Introduction

Most emergencies, by their nature, are low probability events which cannot be predicted. The circumstances surrounding and causing a major emergency, the place and time it happens, and a multitude of other factors means that action cannot be predetermined; the key to resolution of any emergency is effective emergency planning and management.

Most incidents fall into three main categories: buildings and infrastructure; equipment and IT systems; and people. Typical causes include flood, power failure, fire, explosion, a threat of terrorist activity, major building or infrastructure failure, malicious activity, spread of infectious disease, death, etc. There may also be incidents which do not disrupt the business but which have major reputational implications that need to be managed through this Incident Management and Business Continuity Framework (IMBCF).

This University’s Incident Management and Business Continuity Framework provides for the planning for and management of an emergency. It provides a framework for dealing with and coordinating responses in the event of a disruption or an emergency. It establishes the roles and responsibilities for central planning for response, recovery and continuity activities, and for ensuring that response, recovery, and resumption plans are in place and tested. In addition to central (University-wide) planning, this framework also requires Schools and Central Service Departments (CSDs) to have their own business continuity plans.

5 Objectives of the Incident Management and Business Continuity Framework

In the event of a major disruption or emergency, the University’s IMBCF provides the necessary framework, structure and processes for coordinating an early resumption to normality with the minimum of disruption to the University’s core activities.

The objectives of the IMBCF are to:

identify the corporate business continuity planning structure and process embed the business continuity planning culture throughout the University, as

part of effective risk management identify the critical business processes and assist Schools and Central Service

Departments in developing their business continuity plans develop and implement training and education in business continuity planning,

reducing the level of risk from emergencies disrupting the University business operation

develop the provision of important management information produce emergency response, business resumption and disaster recovery plans conduct a review and exercise programmes to regularly test the policy

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Consolidate

Construct

Promulgate

Gather Information

7. Validate 6. Train

8 Review, Revise 5. Issue & Disseminate

Embed

4. Agree and Finalise

3. Determine actions & responsibilities

1. Set direction from risk assessment

2. Set Objectives

Consult

minimise the impact on the University’s business operations and services.

6 Emergency planning

Emergency Planning is about identifying risks and developing procedures that will mitigate the effects of an emergency, save lives and avoid injury. As part of an integrated response this leads to business continuity management which seeks to protect buildings and reputations and support the University in carrying on its business.

The emergency planning cycle involves a continuous process of assessing the risk of and preparing for emergencies supported by procedures to keep staff in readiness and validate plans. Plans should also be reviewed and, if necessary, revised when they have been activated in response to an emergency.

The better prepared the University is for dealing with emergencies, the more effective and efficient a response is likely to be. This is one of the key reasons why it is important for the University to engage in emergency planning activities.

Training and exercising is a key part of the planning process, encouraging effective evaluation, review and updating of plans as part of the cycle of continuous improvement, awareness and readiness to respond. This process can contribute significantly to the overall resilience of the plans and those tasked with responding to and managing the incident.

The Cycle of Emergency Planning

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7 Definitions

Emergency: An event or situation that threatens serious damage to staff and student welfare or to the HEI environment. To constitute an emergency this situation must require the implementation of special arrangements by the HEI.

Incident Management can be described as having an external focus which responds to community based events (in this case, the University is the community). Incident Management will involve a focus on an initial response, liaison with many agencies and responding to the requirements of this affected by the emergency.

Business Continuity is concerned with maintaining internal operations in an organisation even in the middle of an emergency. There will be some crossover but the two work streams have very different priorities and are designed to deliver results. Examples of business continuity priorities include liaising with insurers and loss adjusters and maintaining/returning IT networks and other core services.

8 Priorities for business and continuity

In the event of a major emergency or incident, the aims of the University’s business continuity plans are to:

Protect life Secure the critical infrastructure and facilities Protect the student experience Resume normal business operations Protect UWL’s reputation

9 Possible Consequences of emergencies

If the University’s response is not forthcoming in an efficient and effective manner the consequences of this could be:

Failure of service offered to existing students. Legal action from students and their sponsors for shortcomings in service Damage to reputation and thereby recruitment of students Damage to public perception of the University Damage to the University’s reputation within the sector; Government and with the

Office for Students and other key agencies Damage to reputation with partners Negative financial impact Impact on quality and continuity of provision Impact on business continuity and integrity Damage to strategic and operational direction at School level Damage to links with commercial partners Damage to the University Estate. Personal injury claims Failure of duty of care Adjoining property damage Service of Improvement and prohibition notices (HSE).

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Section C: Command and Control

10 Responsibility in the event of an emergency

The Vice Chancellor has ultimate responsibility in the event of an emergency. In the absence of the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) will take responsibility

In the absence of the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive and the DVC the following will assume responsibility:

1. Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience)2. Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic)3. University Secretary4. Associate PVC and Chief Information Officer5. Chief Financial Officer6. Director of Property Services

Designated officers will be responsible in the evenings and weekends. The numbers of these members of staff will be located with Security.

In the absence of all of the above the following will apply:

1. Nominated Head of School

If these Members are absent from the University premises the following order applies:

1. Academic Registrar2. Head of Student Services

The above must:

• Determine the facts (Information) – fact, not rumour / take time to determine the facts

• Assess implications (Implications) – it is essential to determine the full implications of disruption prior to taking any action i.e. what can’t we do now that we could have if the incident hadn’t arisen? It is worthwhile to note down the assets, resources, people and locations now not available

• Determine impacts over time of doing nothing (Impacts over time) and, for each activity affected by the disruption, define a recovery timeline.

• Agree coping strategies (Strategy) – these should already have been considered and documented for each critical activity but it is up to the response teams to ensure that sufficient resources are made available to those tasked with implementing them

• Implement strategies (Track implementation) by providing required resources & support to the response teams

11 Communication Chain.

1. Key Contact contacts the various departments within the University as required e.g. security, Property Services, Student Services, IT Services etc.

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2. Key Contact will also instruct Security/Reception staff to contact emergency services if or when they are needed.

3. Directors and/or Heads of Central Service Departments/Deans of Colleges and/or Heads of School will contact and notify appropriate University Managers/Directors.

4. Where Bouygues (for facilities management) and Elior (for catering) are required, the Director of Property Services or Nominee will contact them according to the requirements and severity of the incident. Property Services will maintain their contact details.

12 Strategic and Operational Control

Emergency Planning and Business Continuity will be defined by Gold; Silver or Bronze teams in accordance with the severity of the incident.

Gold = Major Incident Management TeamVice-Chancellor’s Executive and key staff to deal with a major incident that affects multiple operations

Silver = Emergency Response TeamDeans of College and/or Heads of School, Directors and/or Heads of Central Service Departments, Safety Manager responsible for dealing with a cross-University incident which involves one or more departments but which can be dealt with without reference to the Major Incident Team. Silver teams may also be required to deal with a business continuity issue, reporting to the Gold team.

Bronze = Departmental Operational TeamsDepartmental Operational team(s) dealing with incidents that affect only one department.

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13 Responsibilities of each level of command

The responsibilities of each level of command are set out in the table below.Major Incident Management

Group:Responsibilities

Vice Chancellor/Deputy Vice Chancellor (in the Chair)VCE membersHeads of any relevant/affected Schools and/or Central Service DepartmentsHead of Communication and MarketingHead of Legal ServicesHealth and Safety ManagerChief Exec of SU (as appropriate)General Manager, Bouygues (as appropriate)

Set up of Incident Control Centre Establishing Priorities Allocation of resources Management of Emergency

Response Teams Reputation management and

communications plan Liaison with appropriate

authorities Financial control Legal issues

Emergency Response Teams: ResponsibilitiesSecurityHealth and SafetyRegistry ITMarketing and Communications Student ServicesOthers teams and staff members as designated by Chair of IMGOther staff members as appropriate

Incident response: Evacuation of Campus / Buildings Cordon off unsafe / unsecure areas Health and safety of staff, students &

responders Escalation to IMG Deal with serious injuries or death Establishing and running helpline Contacting next of kin

Resumption: Transporting staff to alternative

locations Determining and obtaining new

locations Setting up areas with IT and

telecommunications systems

Department Business Continuity Teams

Responsibilities

Each School/College and Central Service Department will have its own Business Continuity Plan with a specified Business Continuity Team.

Recovery Respond to direction from Major

Incident ManagementGroup and Emergency Response Teams

Manage the prioritised recovery of activities through referral to own Business Continuity Plan

Manage workarounds and contingencies, taking account of situation and resource available

14 Alternates and Deputies

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Heads of Schools/Deans of Colleges and Directors/Heads of CSDs will identify alternates or deputies for all roles and posts in their BCP.

15 Incident Management

University-wide incident management is the sole responsibility of the Major Incident Management Group who will also require Head of Schools/Deans of Colleges and Heads of CSDs to locally manage their areas according to their Business Continuity Plans where appropriate.

The repercussions arising from a major incident may be much longer term than the incident itself; such issues may include the impact upon the University from unhelpful media and press, negative effects upon the student experience arising from site closure(s) and unbudgeted expenditure issues.

In such a case it will be necessary to form specific operational groups to manage the longer term issues arising from a major incident. The remit of such a working group will be determined and managed by the IMG.

16 Escalation of incidents

When an incident occurs, where appropriate it will be considered at departmental/school level initially. Where a University wide response is required, this will be escalated to silver level to the Cross University Operational Team. This team will escalate to the Gold level and the Group (IMG) will be convened according to the diagram below and the actions cards in Appendix 1.

STRATEGIC, TACTICAL AND OPERATIONAL OPTIONS

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GOLD Incident Management Group

GOLDIncident Management

Group:

SILVEREmergency response

teams

BRONZEInitial school/ departmental

local response

Incident Management Plan invoked through the Incident

Management Group

Lead Executive/ Emergency Response Team responsible for calling on individuals as

necessary

Head of School/ Department

ESC

ALA

TIO

N

SEVERITY

BRONZE COMMAND:

Relevant Department/School:

1. On receipt of incident information, investigate and assess the implication for the affected people and premises and put local measures into effect

2. Agree best course of action to take, consulting with other members of the team as necessary.

3. Decide whether to apply the escalation process to SILVER

4. Advise whether external media is likely to be involved.

SILVER COMMAND

Executive Lead and relevant Management Teams and personnel as appropriate = Business Continuity Team

1. Liaise with team handling the incident at Bronze Level.

2. Call a Cross University Emergency Response Team together.

3. If the incident is expected to result in a partial, temporary or sustained building closure, serious injuries or death, contact the Vice-Chancellor/Executive Team

GOLD COMMAND

Vice-Chancellor/Executive – Major Incident Management Group

1. On receipt of emergency briefing from the Business Continuity Team take decision on activation of the University’s Incident Management and Business Continuity Plan.

2. Determine priorities and prioritise demands.

3. Liaise with the Media Communications Manager, approve all press releases and if necessary handle the media.

4. If necessary provide / authorise additional resources

5. Report as appropriate to the Vice Chancellor and Board of Governors

6. Identify and maximise opportunities or advantages arising from the crisis.

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17 Contact lists

Contact lists, including home and mobile telephone numbers and alternate email addresses, are kept on a SharePoint page accessible by only the IMG. This list is to be treated as confidential and must only be used for emergency response procedures. Members of the IMG, and School or CSDs should hold a version of relevant plans and contact lists in their office and securely at home.

It is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that all plans and contact details are kept confidential and secure. Out of date plans and contact lists should be shredded and disposed of securely.

The contact list should cover alternates to cover leave and sickness. It is each school/CSDs’ responsibility to ensure that these are updated regularly.

18 Categories of incidents

The BCMS process tries to identify potential major disruptive threats to the University’s normal operations. Effective BCMS enables the University to develop the strategic and tactical capability to plan for and respond to interruptions to the normal running of the business.

Major disruptive events can be broken down into five key areas. These are:

Lack of peopleo Pandemics (eg. influenza), diseaseo Adverse weathero Other local major incident preventing people from reaching UWL

Buildings and infrastructureo No access or impaired to rooms, corridors or buildingso Failure of utilities (eg. due to fire, explosion, flood)o Prohibiton notices

Processes and technologyo IT or equipment failureo Cyber security events o Loss of or inability to access datao Loss of communications tools, such as email, telephony and Internet

connectivityo Equipment and services required to teach

Financial o Financial irregularities, poor third stream income, fines, etc

Reputational o UKVI, PREVENT, serious adverse Press, other major reputational

issue

Whatever the major disruptive event, it is likely to be caused or affected by one or more of these five key areas identified above.

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Appendix 2 sets out some categories of incidents and how to assess their severity.

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19 Action Cards

At the early stages of any major destructive incident, when there is most confusion and time is at a premium, Action Cards present the best method of focussing on priority issues.

Action Cards provide essential information and instructions need to perform a specific role, task or function. They are not intended to be exhaustive, as there may be other duties required which are not listed.

Action cards are set out in Appendix 1.

20 Emergency Related Procedures

Procedures exist to deal with specific types of emergency related incidents. Such procedures assist the IMG in providing effective guidance for responding to a major incident. This enhances the University’s preparedness for dealing with a major incident, improves resilience, and supports an effective recovery from such disruptions.

Specific guidance for the following is outlined in Section D:

Fire & Evacuation (procedures1,2,3) Gas leaks (procedure 4) Evacuation (procedure 5) Exposure to Harmful Substances (procedure 6) Death of student or staff member (procedure 7) Infectious Diseases (procedure 8) Pandemic Illness (procedure 9) Lockdown procedure (procedure 10)

Further information is available on the University’s BCM webpage (https://bcm.uwl.ac.uk) under Emergency Procedures.

21 Helplines

University helplines will be established where there is a need to: Receive information relating to the University’s services Convey information to students, parents, staff, public, etc. Provide support to students, parents and staff and, where necessary, advice

on counselling services.

The need for a helpline must be assessed on each occasion by the IMG and any Emergency Service that is directly involved in a major disruptive event.

Having established the need, sufficient time must be allocated to organise, to brief operators, and to arrange administrative and backup procedures before the helpline goes live and is advertised.

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If any of the Emergency Services are in attendance, they will take responsibility for all briefings during the response stage. They will update the information and administrative procedures; beyond this, logging basic details will be the University’s responsibility.

Helplines do not remove the obligation for prompt and proactive outward communication using all appropriate media.

There are two options for running helplines: either run internally, or outsourced.

Helplines will not:

Be set up as a routine response to any emergency Take over the role of Police contact lines or Casualty Bureau Be advertised on a blanket coverage basis, but will be made available through local

media to those most closely affected.

Once active, the decision to close the helpline will depend on the number of incoming calls and the nature of the incident / outbreak. A formal debriefing session for all personnel involved will take place. A helpline report should be prepared for incorporation in any investigation report.

22 Critical Services Calendar

During a 12 month period the University will experience times when the inability to carry out certain activities could have a significant impact upon the short, medium or long term viability of the business. Alternatively, there may be periods throughout the annual calendar when the same circumstances would have less of an impact. The Key activities, together with the priorities for recovery, are set out in Appendix 3.

In the event of an incident each School and CSD must consult their own Business Continuity Plan regarding critical timescales.

23 School/College and Central Service Department Business Continuity Plans

The process of recovering from an emergency usually starts during the emergency itself. The roles of those tasked with recovery will vary depending on the nature of the emergency but could include identifying new or temporary accommodation, initiating staff working from home, amending the teaching or exam timetables, recruiting additional staff, and instigating School/CSD Business Continuity plans. The interrelationship between the recovery phases is set out in Appendix 4.

All Heads of School/Deans of Colleges and Heads of CSDs must have their own local Business Continuity Plan. These will assist the IMG with the Response, Resumption and Recovery arrangements. These plans are to be held on the BCF website. Each School/CSD Business Continuity Plan will list the requirements and the business critical activities, including those activities dependent on other service areas (such as IT Services or facilities). In determining these each School / CSD must have completed a Business Impact Analysis of their area, as there is no simple ‘one size fits all’ plan or solution. However, templates can be used for drafting School and CSD BCPs, and an example can be found on the BCMS website.

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24 Central Service Department Responsibilities

24.1 Communications and Media

Large scale events are also likely to attract attention from the Media, the scale and extent of interest dependent on a number of factors. Media coordination is the responsibility of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the Head of Marketing and Communications and must be covered in the department’s Incident Communications Response Plan. Additionally the Deputy Vice-Chancellor will, if required, identify a suitable UWL spokesperson.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor is responsible for maintaining the Incident Communications Response Plan which will include how UWL will maintain effective communications with staff, students and other stakeholders during an emergency.

This will include updating the UWL website, sending group email messages and maintaining social media updates as necessary. Robust methods of communication are vital to ensure that everyone is properly informed and will help to avoid confusion and duplication of effort. During the response to an emergency all communications from UWL, or from Schools and CSDs, are to be approved by the IMG before dissemination.

Staff must not speak to the press about any incident unless authorised to do so by IMG.

Schools and CSDs should have their own arrangements for communicating to staff and students aside from the University-wide communication plan.

In the event of extended closure, the Chair of IMG should assess the position and ensure that appropriate communications are issued by Marketing and Communications and the Schools/CSDs concerned.

24.2 IT Services

IT Services is responsible for the provision and maintenance of data, telecommunication systems and networks, and for ensuring a robust and suitable response to data or telecoms failures. They are required to have in place a full IT recovery plan integrated into the BCF.

Schools/Colleges and CSDs need to plan for the loss of IT systems, data and telecommunications within their own Business Continuity Plans.

24.3 Property Services

The Property Services Department is responsible for the acquisition, management and disposal of all property, major and minor capital projects, security matters, health and safety; environmental and sustainability and to ensure the estate is fit for purpose and legally compliant at all times.

Appendix 5 sets out the severity ratings for Property Services related incidents.

The Property Services department is responsible for arranging and maintaining the provision and supply of water, gas, electricity, oil or other utilities for all University owned buildings. They are responsible for making emergency arrangements with alternative suppliers if necessary. A full list of suppliers and contact details are held by the Property Services Department.

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24.4 Space Planning and Accommodation

The Director of Property Services is responsible for identifying and sourcing off site alternative accommodation for teaching and office space, if required following an emergency. Strategies such as office relocation, sharing of offices and/or hot-desking will be considered. Any office or desk that is not being used at the time of an incident may be utilised. Allocation of space under these circumstances will be based on the need to maintain critical services and arranged in conjunction with the University Registrar and the Timetabling Manager.

In the event of more significant long term losses, alternative accommodation may need to be acquired on a semi-permanent/permanent basis. To enable this, a number of corporate decisions will need to be made by the IMG and include:

potential location type of accommodation required and the facilities on offer in the market at the

time lease terms on offer (including rent) possibility for fast track fit out sharing of offices and other facilities.

24.5 Student Services

The Head of Student Services is responsible for arranging the provision of critical student services during and following an emergency. A skeleton service will be provided in the affected location with enhanced telephone services.

24.6 Registry

In the event of no access to the Student Records system, Registry have a copy of the data off-site to be able to provide student data.

The timetabling team will work with property services to identify teaching space. Where necessary, timetabled space will be rationed to ensure that all students can remain in contact with their studies.

Contingency plans are in place for key events such as graduation, examinations and award boards.

Business Continuity tasks in relation to examinations may involve shifting the time, or location, of particular examinations and communications with students will be required. This might also mean, upon advice from relevant course staff, allowing the organisation of an alternative type of assessment.

During teaching time, priority will be given to maintaining the presence of the Timetabling Team on campus to ensure good liaison with staff and the ability to react to situations.

24.7 Human Resources

Staff data will be provided by HR where required. In the event that HR are affected by the incident, a skeleton service will be provided at an appropriate location.

24.8 Finance

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During an emergency, there may be a requirement to organise equipment and resources which have not been budgeted for. Where a purchase relating to emergency management exceeds £5000, approval must be sought from the appropriate Executive member. All financial expenditure must be recorded under a separate budget code (to be arranged by the Chief Financial Officer) and in accordance with the University financial regulations. All expenditure relating to the emergency should be reported to the University’s insurers.

The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for managing emergency expenditure, liaison with the University insurers, and ensuring continuation of critical financial services following an emergency.

25. Recovery of teaching and assessments

25.1 Recovery of teaching

Following an incident where teaching is disrupted, a key priority is to ensure that teaching is recovered as soon as possible. Action to be taken by the departments and schools/colleges involved will be decided by the Major Incident Management Group and the parameters are as follows:

on the first day students will be advised to go home if they are have classes in the affected building(s) and asked to look at the website for further information at the end of the day;

teaching in unaffected sites/buildings should continue. Where IT is not available, staff should undertake other activities with students;

where access to building(s) is likely to continue, property services and timetabling will identify rooms that will be allocated on a priority basis. At the beginning of the semester, Level 3 and level 4 students will be given priority. Nearer to assessment, Level 6 should be given priority;

if the situation is likely to be prolonged, consideration should be given to doubling up classes, providing fewer hours per week and supplementing with online provision for the duration of the recovery period;

where teaching is likely to be disrupted for more than one week, heads of schools/colleges should invoke business recovery plans to obtain access to specialist space and facilities elsewhere.

To ensure that teaching recovery, the Associate PVC and Chief Information Officer will convene a silver command group comprising all Heads of Schools/College or their nominee with other staff appropriate to the situation.

Once building access and teaching has been fully restored, consideration should be given to putting on additional sessions for students where time was lost.

Plans should be communicated to students and information provided as soon as it is available to ensure that they are aware of the efforts being made to provide their course.

25.2 Assessment considerations

Where an incident has disrupted assessments consideration should be given to ensuring that students are not disadvantaged.

Where the incident occurs immediately prior to a major assignment deadline, the deadline should be extended for an appropriate period. Students who submitted early should also be allowed to re-submit to ensure no students are advantaged over others.

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Where examinations are disrupted, consideration should be given to providing the examination paper or parts thereof as an in class test where rooms are available or for students to complete in their own time. An alternative assessment could also be set. PSRB requirements will need to be taken into account in any action.

In all actions on assessment, Level 6 students should be prioritised to ensure that their graduation is not delayed. For example if only some examinations are to be cancelled, those for Level 6 should be given priority.

Students should not be required to request extensions or mitigation in these circumstances. Any actions should be approved in accordance with the Academic Regulations..

26 Space for Incident Management Group and Business recovery teams

In the event of a major incident which affects SMR, the Incident Management Group will convene in Paragon 11th Floor Suite.

Space will be made available for academic business continuity teams to operate if their part of the building is affected. For example, if Paragon were to be off limits, space would be made available in SMR for the Business School, CNMH and SHSS. This space would be to enable teams of academic staff to plan for teaching recovery and other business continuity tasks.

For all central services, space will be made available for skeletal business recovery teams (as defined in business continuity plans) in an appropriate building. All other staff may be asked to work remotely until instructed otherwise, at least in the first instance.

27 Training

In addition to scenario testing, training is provided for members of staff who have nominated roles on IMG. This, together with specific information and instruction, supports these group members in managing a major event.

Staff awareness training on the BCF will be provided and regularly refreshed. Specific role training such as emergency controller / incident controller, chairs and deputies of IMG, will cover issues such as managing the incident, security, health and safety, communications and handling the media.

Quick reference / instruction guidance for those responding to incidents will be provided in the form of Action Cards.

The table below sets out the training requirements:

Group Training required FrequencyIncident management GroupHeads of Schools and Services

Incident management training Biennial

Incident management GroupHeads of Schools and Services

Health and Safety training Every 3 years

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VCE members Communications and Media training

As required

Heads of Schools and Services

Business Continuity training Biennial

Members of:Communications TeamProperty ServicesIT servicesRegistry

Business Continuity Briefings Biennial

28 Review

28.1 Post-incident ReviewsThe University Secretary shall ensure that a formal post-incident review is undertaken within one month of invocation of any part of the Business Continuity Plan. The review should include as a minimum:

Lessons learned in responding to the incident

Effectiveness of business continuity strategies and plans and how they could be improved

Agreed timeline for implementation of any improvements and changes.

28.2 Maintenance & Test Schedule

At least one business continuity exercise should be carried out each year with the scope and objectives agreed in advance. To minimise business disruption, this is likely to be a straightforward tabletop exercise with the Incident Management Team and relevant business area representatives asked to respond to an initial and unfolding scenario. Ideally such an exercise should also include the deputies to cover post-incident response roles and responsibilities as a means of increasing their awareness.

The outcome of the exercises and any actions arising, learning points etc. should be documented and someone assigned to ensuring that agreed actions are subsequently taken. The exercise documentation should be retained for audit purposes

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Appendix 1: Command level action cards

BRONZE ACTION CARD:Bronze Control Procedures

1. Department/School assumes initial incident control, collates and confirms information.

2. Assess People, priority and business continuity implications.

3. Assess need for lead Executive and escalation to the introduction of a Cross University Business Continuity Team.

If a Business Continuity Team is not required implement University Emergency procedures and take appropriate action

4. Alert lead Executive of action to date.

5. Ensure an event log is maintained.

Bronze Control Procedures

Escalate Incident to Silver Command if

Access to a substantial part of the site is lost for more than a few hours

More than one department will be required to work together regarding the incident.

Credible threat to health of occupants.

Serious injury or death

Media interest is shown

Possibility of damage to University reputation

Police involvement

Checklist:

Services isolated

Area evacuated

Exposure Contained

Access Controlled/Curtailed

Messages transmitted

Event log maintained

Incident checklist consulted

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SILVER ACTION CARD:

Silver Control Procedures

1. Bronze Commander escalates incident control to Silver Commander – BCT.

2. Assess People, priority and business continuity implications.

3. Assess need for escalation.

Ensure Silver level team and where relevant Bronze Team remain on site to maintain site security & direct emergency services

4. Alert Vice-Chancellor/ Executive of incident

5. Nominate a member of the BCT to keep an event log

6. Consider reputation, costs, interruption time, recovery, compliance & insurance implications.

7. Make contact with external bodies such as HSE, Environment Agency and Local Authority if appropriate.

8. Escalate incident to Gold Command as required

9. Continually assess and report possible implications of the incident.

Silver Control Procedures

Escalate Incident to Gold Command if

Access to a substantial part of the site is lost for more than a few hours.

Multiple serious injuries or deaths

Media interest is involved

Possibility of damage to University reputation

Police involvement

Additional resources need approval / are required

Checklist:

Services isolated

Area evacuated

Exposure Contained




Relevant 3rd parties notified

Incident checklist consulted

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GOLD ACTION CARD:Gold Control Procedures

1. Silver Commander escalates incident control to Gold Commander – VC/DVC.

2. Assess capability of local team to handle incident.

3. Activate teams as needed and convene the required members at a central/external location if necessary.

4. Ensure Silver level staff remain on site to maintain site security & direct emergency services

5. Alert Board of Governors as required

6. Consider reputation, costs, interruption time, recovery, compliance & insurance implications.

7. Identify/maximise opportunities or advantages from the incident

8. Arrange for contact to be made with external bodies such as HSE, Environment Agency and Local Authority if appropriate.

9. Draft communications as required and liaise with the Media Communications Manager to approve all press releases as required.

Gold Control Procedures

10 Implement Major Incident and Business Continuity Plan.

11 Invoke Recovery Plans as required

12 Provide / approve additional resources as required

13 Continually assess possible implications of the incident.

Checklist:

Services isolated

Area evacuated

Exposure Contained




Relevant 3rd parties notified

Recovery Planned

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Appendix 2 Incident Categorisation

Assessing Severity: impact, scale, and duration

Assessing the impact, scale and duration of a major incident should be one of the first tasks completed by Emergency Controllers and Major Incident Management Group members. The guidance below give examples of how to assess severity and some examples:

1 Minor

No injuries or impact on health. Insignificant number of persons displaced and insignificant special arrangements. Insignificant disruption to academic provision, services and infrastructure. Insignificant financial impact. Insignificant impact on University estate.

2 Moderate

Small number of people affected with a small number of minor injuries (first aid treatment).

Low - moderate damage to properties. Moderate displacement of a small number of people for and minor additional

arrangements required. Moderate localised disruption to campus services or infrastructure. Negligible financial impact and cost absorbed. Minor impact on University estate with no lasting effects.

3 Serious

Injured persons requiring medical treatment and possible hospitalisation. Damage that is confined to a specific location, or to a number of locations, but

requires additional resources. Localised displacement of >100 people. Localised disruption to infrastructure and academic provision and core services. Limited impact: some short-term loss of services, with possible additional clean-up

costs. Limited impact on the University estate with short-term or long-term effects

4 Major Major number of people in affected area impacted with, multiple serious or extensive

injuries, significant hospitalisation and activation of full University Emergency Response and Incident Management Plans.

Significant damage that requires immediate attention. 100 to 500 people at risk and displaced for longer than 1 week. External resources required to maintain core business. Significant impact on and possible breakdown of delivery of University services Significant impact with medium-term loss of productivity. Significant extra clean-up and recovery costs. Significant impact upon the estate with medium- to long-term effects.

5 Catastrophic of 65

Very large numbers of people in affected areas with potential fatalities, large number

of people requiring hospitalisation with serious longer-term effects. Extensive damage to properties and the built environment. Large scale displacement of people. Serious damage to infrastructure causing significant disruption to, or loss of key

services. Extensive clean up and recovery costs. Serious impact upon reputation.

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Incident MinorLocal BCPs

SignificantEmergency

Response Team mobilised as appropriate

MajorFull mobilisation of

Major Incident Management Plans

Utility failure Local power cut, of short duration

Whole campus or long duration

Long term power failure for greater than 1 week Decision on whether to close or relocate

Technology and communications failure/major data breach

Short duration, individual system

Longer duration multiple core systems e.g. E-mail, Internet connectivity, Blackboard, Unit-e

Loss of major core systemsFor more than 3 days (or less at critical periods e.g. Clearing, enrolment), affecting core and academic functions

Hazardous Release

Quickly localised by staff and exclusion zone rapidly established. Safety Office to decide whether to escalate and close area/building

Contamination situation requiring major clean–up orre-scheduling of teaching learning or office space

Multiple deaths exclusion zone for more than 1 week in a significant areaMass evacuationNational media interest

Fire, flood, collapse, crime scene

Localised, short duration.Loss of room space or single facility e.g. canteen

Large number of rooms/facilities affected for less than 1 week

Loss of significant amounts of teaching and office space for more than 1 weekLoss of building

Pandemic or other loss of staff

Localised absence Illness is short lived and staff back within one week

Major outbreak of disease that might require closure

Incident in the vicinity impacting the University

Road traffic collision outside St Mary’s Road

Major incident on M4/A4 affecting occupation of PH

Major gas leak/explosion denying access to site for sustained period (e.g. several days)

Incident in student accommodation

Hall uninhabitable for extensive hotel

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Appendix 3: Critical Services Calendar

High Priority Recovery should take place in less than 1 week after the disruption/incident

Medium Priority Recovery should take place in less than 2 weeks after the disruption/incident

Low Priority Recovery could take place greater than 2 weeks after the disruption/incident

Nb. This table may be reviewed when schools / departments have reviewed their Business Impact Analyses (BIAs)

Activity Description Priority for RecoveryTeaching and Learning Undergraduate

Postgraduate Certificate Level Executive Development Summer Schools

During term time = High < 1 week Low

Research Activities ranging from group-based research, to lone researchers

Low >2 Weeks

Services to business and community

Relatively small scale Low >2 Weeks

Outward-facing activities/events

Lectures & receptions in main theatres, other external events e.g. music concerts,

Low >2 Weeks

Student recruitment Carried out partly centrally and partly locally in Schools: • Undergraduate (normal times) • Undergraduate (in Clearing) • Diploma students • Masters or PhD research students • Overseas undergraduates • Overseas postgraduates

During Clearing = High <1 Day During other times = Medium <2 Weeks

Examinations and Assessments

Largely built into courses During Exam times = High <1 Day - once an exam day is lost this would need to be rescheduled as part of the recovery procedures During other times = Low <2 Weeks

Award ceremonies Mostly centrally organised and held in Wembley, with 600+ in each ceremony

During times when ceremonies are scheduled = High <1 Day If the ceremony is not able to proceed this will need to be rescheduled as part of the recovery During other times = Low >2

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Weeks

Reviews, audits and assessments of UWL

Many professional bodies – usually involve small numbers of visitors and staff (HEFCE, QAA)

Low = >2 Weeks

Staff appointments, development, reward and disciplinary action

HR and Throughout the year but most academic staff recruited to start in August/September

At all times = Medium <2 Weeks

Governance Deputies in place for all appointments

At all times = Low >2 Weeks

Strategic Planning At all times = Low > 2 Weeks

Central University Services Delivery

Estates and Facilities: Timetabling - space allocation Property Maintenance – utilities Security Cleaning

At all times = High < 1-2 days

Catering Caretaking Post

At all times = High <1 week

Finance – Payroll At all times = Medium <2 Weeks

Human Resources – recruitment, welfare & discipline

At all times = Medium <2 Weeks

Provision of IT systems and services

Communications services (telephony, email, Internet connectivity)Provision of Blackboard, classroom AV and other systems necessary for teachingAccess to student data

High

High

High (etc.)

Activities can also be seen in the academic calendar (see UWL web site for up to date academic year information).

In the event of an incident each School and CSD must consult their own Business Continuity Plan regarding critical timescales.

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Appendix 4. The inter-relationship between recovery phases

Example: Loss of building due to fire.

Immediate actions Short Term actions Longer Term actionsEmergency Response

phaseContinuity phase Recovery phase

Major Incident Group convenesEmergency services attendanceServices IsolatedEvacuationAccess controlled Messages sentEvent log maintainedRelevant 3rd Parties notifiedIncident check list consulted

Building assessmentTeaching space rescheduled or sourced Teaching transferred to electronic media in short termStudent/staff counsellingLectures rescheduledNew lab space consideredCore functions work area recovery space foundIT systems re-establishedLoss adjuster assessment

Return buildings to previous stateNew building work consideredTolerability of loss consideredRe-scheduling missed teaching and lectures Work with insurers to quantify and recoup lossesDecide priority of critical services (after consulting schools and central support services plans)

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Appendix 5: Property services severity ratings

Upon being made aware of an incident involving the University, its infrastructure or systems, a decision should be made based on the severity of the incident:

Table 1: Severity RatingsType / Rating 1 2 3Terrorist Threat • Any Threat Received

or discoveredLife Safety Systems • Any fire

(however minor).• Activation of fire suppression systems

• Complete fire alarm or fire suppression system failure.

• Fire alarm activation

Health &Safety • Death of employees / students or third parties.• Any event causing more than one person to be detained in hospital overnight.• Any event which has (or may) severely affect the health, safety and security of University staff /

• Major injury of employees / students or third parties.• Employee / student taken to hospital due to incident.

• Minor injuries of employees / student or third parties.

Gas • Building closure due to gas leak.

• Gas leak.• Loss of supply of gas.

Electricity • Electricity supply failure to critical areas.

• Partial (e.g. multiple floors) building power failure BUT NOT CRITICAL

• Localised power failure (i.e. single floor).

Water • Major flooding (to more than one floor).• Water supply failure (tanks ¼ full).

• Moderate flooding (to a single floor)• Water supply failure (tanks ½ full).

• Localised flooding (i.e. to a ground floor).• Water supply failure (>1 day).

Heating, Ventilation & Cooling

• Cooling lost to IT / Comms Rooms(> 1 hour).

• Cooling lost to IT / Comms Rooms.

• Loss of cooling to building.• Loss of heating to the building.

Building Fabric • Major structural damage

Environmental • Any uncontrolled release of toxic or hazardous material to the air, water, ground or surrounding environment that extends beyond the property line.

• Any uncontrolled release of toxic or hazardous material to the building environment.

• Minor spillage of hazardous materials.

Security Systems • Access Control/ CCTV System failure

Lifts • Complete lift failure • Lift entrapmentCatering & Vending • Malfunction of

multiple vending machines.• Unable to provide

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Section D. Specific Emergency Procedures

Procedure 1: Fire and Evacuation Procedure for all staff – All Premises

It is essential all staff and students know the emergency procedures, escape routes, extinguisher positions and any special hazards in each building they use.

Detailed evacuation procedures are available on the Health and Safety pages of the intranet (https://bcm.uwl.ac.uk ) . Staff and students are given a Health and Safety induction on joining which includes Fire and Evacuation procedures. Fire action notices are posted above each fire call point with abbreviated instructions.

An abbreviated fire action card can be found below:

If you start or discover a fire or see smoke If you hear an alarm

1. Sound the fire alarm – break glass within the Fire Alarm Call point or revert to local arrangement if a fire alarm is not installed.

2. Only if safe and trained to do so attack small fires, using the appropriate appliances provided;

3. If fire gets out of control, or if your exit is threatened, leave the building and inform Security by dialling 3333.

1. If safe to do so, switch off all gas appliances and dangerous electrical items - Compressed gas supplies such as oxygen, acetylene, compressed air, and hydrogen must be isolated at the cylinder

2. Close doors behind you – if safe to do so and does not hinder your evacuation, do not leave doors wedged open nor locked

3. Leave the building by the nearest available safe exit;

4. Report to the assembly point – as indicated on nearest Fire Action Notice.

Never tackle a fire unless is safe and you are trained to do so

Do Not take risksDo Not return to the building for any reason unless authorised to do so

Do Not use lifts

If any person is aware of how the incident started or is aware of any person remaining in the building, they must report to the Fire and Rescue Service or University Security as soon as possible.

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Procedure 2: Fire Checklist: Security procedures

Action:

1. Initiate evacuation of building if not done so already

2. Incident controller takes charge

3. Deploy Security to the scene

4. Inform Fire Service

5. Senior Fire Officer takes charge on arrival

6. Senior Fire Officer returns control to the University when satisfied it is safe.

7. See flowchart below for procedures.

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Procedure 3: Re-Occupation of a Building

Following a fire alarm, authorisation to re-enter a building will only be given by specified members of University staff or a member of the Fire and Rescue Service. Under no circumstance should any person re-enter a building unless authorised to do so.

Where a fire alarm practice is being undertaken authorisation to re-enter a building will be given by authorised personnel.

Where a fire alarm is activated through automatic detection or by means of a manual call point, authorisation to re-enter a building will be given by authorised personnel or a member of the Fire and Rescue Service who will investigate the cause of the activation.

If Fire and Rescue Service personnel are unavailable, due to industrial action etc. The University shall authorise certain key staff to undertake investigation duties and approve re-entry into a building.

The University operates a call challenge system ahead of requesting the attendance of the Fire and Rescue Service.

Upon activation of an alarm all University Buildings will go into full evacuation mode. Security will investigate the location of activation, during this time the monitoring station will be told to hold off calling the fire brigade. Only if a genuine alarnm will the emergency services be called.

All personnel conducting activation investigations will be suitably trained to ensure the safety of all persons.

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Procedure 4: Gas leaks – action for staff

This procedure should be followed if there is a suspected gas leak.

IF YOU SMELL GAS OR SUSPECT A GAS LEAK YOU MUST:

Turn off all gas appliances (if possible turn off at isolation valve or meter );

Extinguish all naked flames, high heat sources and cigarettes. Do NOT turn electric switches ON or OFF;

Where it is safe to do so, open as many external windows and doors as possible;

Close all doors leading onto corridors and adjacent rooms;

Evacuate the area affected and all adjacent rooms. Where the smell of gas is in the whole building the entire building must be evacuated;

Inform the Emergency Helpline on ext 3333 on an internal telephone or call security on 0208 231 2572 on any external telephone

Ensure no person remains within the evacuated area.

The Property Services Department shall operate appropriate procedures for investigating suspected natural gas leaks within buildings and on University grounds and aid evacuation where this is required.

NOTE: Schools/Departments are reminded specific Emergency Procedures may be required for some of their specialist flammable or hazardous gases. Procedures produced must be posted, as appropriate, within the building and brought to the attention of the Property Services Department

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Gas leak checklist

Action

1. Inform security on the Emergency Helpline (ext 3333)

2. Evaluate buildings and / or areas of campus as necessary

3. Close off buildings or areas and security staff at a safe distance to prevent persons entering a risk area

4. Set up diversions if necessary for persons and traffic

5. Maintain protective cordon until area made safe

6. Inform Communications

7. Consider evacuation of the area if gas permeates the building.

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Procedure 5: Security Evacuation (including bomb alerts)

1 Introduction

The Security Evacuation procedures covers all evacuations of buildings for security reasons including bomb alerts.

The Fire and Evacuation Procedure is the starting point for all emergency evacuations and, as such any security evacuation will share substantial common elements with it. The content below therefore refers mainly to the areas where the Security Evacuation Procedure differs from the generic Fire and Evacuation Procedure.

It should be noted that because of the potential consequences of any blast all evacuees can expect to be directed some considerable distance from the buildings during the course of an evacuation and, possibly, off site. It should further be noted that it may not be possible to use exits or exits routes ordinarily available.

These procedures also hold for any other required evacuations (other than fire)

SMR Paragon Reading

Off-Site Points Assembly Points:

Ealing Green Boston Manor Park St Mary’s Minster Church green

2 Reporting Procedure

There are three ways in which the presence or suspected presence of a bomb may be notified to the University and this influences the way that an evacuation will take place as follows:.

Evacuation Procedures – Notification from an individual by word of mouth, telephone or other electronic means.

Discovery by a member of staff, student or member of the public.

Notification from the Police

1. The person receiving the threat will inform Security on the Emergency Helpline number, ext 3333

2. Reception will notify the Key Contact or deputising colleague and then call the Police on 999

Evacuate the premises via word of mouth / silent evacuation allowing for bags, coats, keys etc to be

1. Call the Emergency Helpline (3333) and report the presence of the suspicious package/case and its location.

2. Security staff to advise Key Contact (or deputising colleague) who will check in location if anyone owns the package/case. If an address can be seen contact supplier to check if it is a delivery due that day.

3. If the item cannot be accounted for and is still believed to be

1 Evacuate the premises via word of mouth / silent evacuation allowing for bags, coats, keys etc to be collected.

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collected. suspicious evacuate the premises via word of mouth / silent evacuation allowing for bags, coats, keys etc to be collected.

Evacuation procedure will be undertaken directing individuals away from the suspected location of the device.

The Key Contact (or deputising colleague) will liaise with Police on-site commanding officer.

Fire Marshalls / Assembly Point Co-ordinators will direct all those evacuated to an off-site assembly point after congregating at local Assembly Point and as advised by the Police.

3 Telephone Bomb Threat

If you receive a telephone call alerting the University to a bomb threat you should:

1. Stay calm and obtain as much details as possible especially location of the bomb (use bomb threat checklist if available)

2. Notify security on the security emergency helpline Ext. 3333.3. Security to contact the police on 9994. Notify UWL nominated IMG contact and follow advise to evacuate and clear area.

4 Postal Bombs

If staff have any suspicion that a postal bomb has arrived they should

1. put the item down carefully2. clear the immediate area3. inform the Key Contact or Security Staff4. the Key Contact or Security Staff will:

i. clear the areaii. inform the switchboard who will contact the Policeiii. await advice from the Policeiv. implement the full evacuation procedures

5 Car Bombs

If the device is suspected to be in a car or in the car park then individuals will be advised to leave their cars and return home using other means of transport. The area will only be re-opened and access to vehicles permitted following advice from the Police.

6 Cordons

If the evacuation is a result of a security, health or safety incident, or a serious crime, the Police may set up a cordon to restrict access in the area. This may be:To protect the public from what may be a dangerous areaTo facilitate any rescue operationTo preserve a possible crime sceneTo facilitate the controlled restoration of normality.

The cordon may be limited to 50 metres, or as far as 500 metres depending on the severity of the incident, which may result in the restriction or limited access to University areas.

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An Incident Control Point (ICP) will normally be designated by the Police somewhere along the cordon. In such circumstances, the person appointed as the IMG Security/Emergency Services Liaison should liaise directly with the emergency services at the ICP, to identify timescales and details of the cordon operation (hours/days/weeks?). A list of University IMG members with contact numbers should be provided to the Police for ease of communication.

The Police (or senior Emergency Services representative) will advise on who should be allowed entry to the restricted area. The University Security/Emergency Services Liaison person should keep a log (or appoint a person to do so) of all University staff who enter the restricted area, noting name, department, reason for visit, time in and time out. Where required, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) should be issued before entering the cordon area.

7 Re-Occupation of the Premises

The premises will only be re-occupied following advice from the Police.

8 Destruction of the Premises or Part of the Premises.

Any areas damaged by explosion will be cordoned off and staff, students and visitors will be prevented from accessing these areas. Business Continuity Plans will be invoked.

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Procedure 6: Exposure to harmful substances

These procedures should be used in the event that you or other members of staff discover or are affected by harmful substances

1 Action by Head of Security:

Notify police immediately using the 999 systemArrange to switch off the building air conditioning system immediatelyArrange to secure all external doors to the buildingArrange to close all windows in the buildingIf there has been a suspected biological contamination, ensure that personnel outside the room are evacuated as soon as possible and ensure individuals in the contaminated room are evacuated to an adjacent unoccupied room away from the hazard.If there has been a suspected chemical incident, ensure personnel leave the room as quickly as possible. Possible signs that people have been exposed will be streaming eyes, coughs and irritated skin. Seek immediate medical advice.

In addition ensure that:

No attempts are made to clean up any spilled powderIf clothing is heavily contaminated, no attempt is made to brush off any powder- it is better to remove the clothing carefully in isolation.

2 Guidance to be given to anyone who believes they have been exposed to chemical / biological material

Remain calm.Do not touch your eyes, nose or any other part of the body.Wash your hands in ordinary soapy water where facilities are provided, but staff movement outside contained locations should be avoided as much as possible.Keep all persons exposed to the material separate from others and available for medical attention.Other people should assemble at a safe distance from the incident and continue to be guided by the police and the other emergency services.

3 Emergency Services Action

Risk assessment by the police is the key to managing such incidents. They will quickly advise on whether people who were potentially exposed to any contents of the package should remain separate from others and await medical attention. A proper description of the package and what has happened to it is ESSENTIAL. This is the basis on which all subsequent action is determined.

On the basis of information from the recipient of the package and their own observation the police will put the incident into one of two categories:

No Credible Threat In most cases, initial assessment of the letter or package by the police will provide reassurance that it is a false alarm, or it may obviously be a hoax. No further action will be taken.

Credible Threat These are packages understood by the police to have features that warrant deployment of full specialist support

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Procedure 7 Death of a student or staff member

1. Introduction

The a notification of a death (Student, Staff or Visitor) will affect a number of people including tutors, students and administrative staff and hence it is important to ensure that everyone who is involved is reminded of the support services available to them.

It is also important that sensitive information is handled with due consideration for the deceased and their family.

This procedure should be considered within the context of the University’s emergency response plans for major incidents or accidents. The broad principles within the plans should be adhered to.

The aim of the guidelines is to enable a rapid, flexible and sensitive response which draws on skills and expertise available across the University.

2 Responding to an incident

Information of an incident can reach the University via many points of entry e.g. Security Services, Hall of Residence, Students’ Union, academic school or the media.

Whatever the point of entry, it is important that the University Secretary is informed. If the death takes place on campus the Health and Safety Manager should be informed in the first instance. Call 3333

If the death takes place on Campus the University Secretary will enact the IMBCF. The relevant team will act according to the flowchart at Appendix A and the checklist at Appendix B and:

• draw up a communication plan• support the school/department affected to ensure that there is access to the range

of resources and support available in the University and beyond• ensure that the incident is effectively managed and followed up• respond to requests for help with costs of accommodating relatives and other

incidental costs.

It is the responsibility of the Police or Hospital for informing the Next of Kin of a death and not staff of the university.

Where the death has taken place off campus the University Secretary and the DVC will consider the appropriate action once the facts are known.

3 The Role of the Academic School / Department

The Head of the School/Department will be notified of any incident involving a student/member of staff. He/she or a nominee will act as point of contact with the Major Incident Management Group (IMG) and manage the response to the incident within the school. The School will collaborate with the IMG on the development of a communication plan which will ensure that any communication with relatives, students, staff and the media is under taken in a sensitive fashion with due consideration to confidentiality. They will also ensure that staff and students are made aware of support available to them.

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4. Communication

4.1 External

Where the death takes place on campus the IMG will follow the University’s Incident Communications Response Plan to develop an incident communications response. This will detail internal and external communications as well as nominating an appropriate spokesperson and drafting a holding press statement. Despite the pressures to respond to requests for information immediately, time should be devoted to ensuring communications are accurate, sensitively phrased, respect confidentiality and cultural values. All communications must be approved by the IMG before publication.

Liaison with external agencies such as the police, the coroner, other emergency services, religious groups or embassies will be considered by the IMG where relevant.

The Vice Chancellor will also write formally to offer support and condolences to the family.

4.2 Internal

The following members of staff need to be informed internally

StudentAcademic Registrar – to ensure student records are updatedHead of Student Services – to ensure support is provided where appropriateHead of SchoolIT ServicesHealth and Safety ManagerHead of Security

StaffHead of SchoolHuman ResourcesFinance for payroll recordsIT ServicesHealth and Safety ManagerHead of Security

5. Supporting Family and Friends

The IMG response group will support departments and other University services in their response to the particular needs of family and friends. Typically in the event of a death, the family will want to come up to the University, to the school, to the hall of residence (or other accommodation) to pick up the effects of the deceased. The University, through the response group, should offer accommodation, facilities and support when this occurs.

6. Funerals

Wherever possible a senior University representative should attend a student's/staff member’s funeral.

7. After the funeral

It may be appropriate for some form of community remembrance to take place. This should be discussed by the Head of School in conjunction with the Vice Chancellor’s Executive.

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8. Special Circumstances

The IMG response group will take necessary action and will draw on specialist advice as necessary e.g. support following an outbreak of a communicable disease (for which special procedures are in place) or in the event of the death of an international student. The full University Emergency Management Team may be convened in more complex situations.

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Appendix A Death of Staff / Student Action Flow Chart

48

Notification of DeathNot on Campus

Inform Uni Sec/Security Manager/ H&S Manager

Uni Sec & DVC to decide on what action to take

Inform Emergency Services

Uni Sec to convene Incident with Management/ GP and take appropriate action.

Staff confirm with HR

Student inform Head of School

Update record as Required

Inform Registry who will update record and IT account. Provide guidance on SLC if required

Discuss with Head of School/ Central Service

Inform staff/Student and a member of the department as appropriate. Offer of help and support from Counselling to students and Employee Assistance Programme for staff

Make University wide staff announcement.

For student consider posthumous award

Arrange Departmental/School representation at funeral as appropriate. Send out letter from the VC as appropriate.

On Campus

Appendix B: Procedures for responding to an on-campus death

This procedure starts from the discovery of any individual on campus who it is believed is deceased and is not responding to First Aid.

1.

Call an ambulance, if this has not been done already, providing as much detail about the condition of the person involved. If you are told that an ambulance has been called by someone else, take steps to verify this: do not assume it has been done.

2.

Call the police, or assure yourself that the police have been called already. It is important to remember that any sudden or suspicious death is the immediate responsibility of the police, acting as ‘Coroner’s Officer’ and the Police will therefore take charge at the scene.

3.Unless there are urgent reasons for doing so the body should not be touched or moved. Possessions should be not be touched or removed, including mobile phones.

4. Where possible the premises should be secured until the Police arrive.

5.In working hours, contact the Head of Security and the Health and Safety. They will notify senior University staff who will determine who will take control of the incident on behalf of the University.

6.

Outside of working hours, use the Emergency contact list available from Security to contact the first available member of senior staff on call-out. The member of staff contacted will take control of the incident on arrival.

7.Try to provide as much assistance as possible to the Police in identifying the person involved. This may involve help from other staff and students who know the person.

8.Consider whether a private room or space for staff, students or witnesses is necessary to wait for the Police to speak to them or in case they want to remain close to the scene.

9.

Do not confirm to anyone enquiring that a death has taken place: the death must be confirmed in the first instance only by a doctor and as far as possible the Next of Kin should be the first to be made aware once this confirmation has taken place.

10. It is for the Police or Hospital to inform Next of Kin of a death: University staff must not undertake this themselves.

11. If the person is pronounced dead at the scene then the Police will make arrangements for or give direction on the removal of the body.

12.If it is suspected that the death has arisen from a communicable disease then Public Health England must be contacted. This can be considered at the scene with the Police.

13. Do not place any messages on Social Media regarding the incident.

14.The death of any individual on campus will cause significant upset for most individuals and some immediate support for them may be required. Employees should be given the EAP number [insert details]

15.

Retain notes of the incident in order that a report can be written: this should include information about times, places, individuals involved, the names and numbers of Police officers involved etc. The University’s lead officer dealing with the matter will decide where these are to be submitted.

16. Once the immediate incident is over the University will initiate the actions outlined above

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Procedure 8: Infectious Diseases

1 Introduction

This procedure outlines the response procedures that should be followed in cases where a member of the University is suspected or confirmed to have an infectious disease.

The document has been developed in consultation with Public Health England, the University’s Students’ Health Service, and other key staff at the University. Although it lists responsibilities that are assigned to Public Health England, it is not intended to replace Public Health England procedures, and is designed primarily to be used by University staff.

2 Background and context

In situations where infectious disease has occurred, the University will play a supporting role to Public Health England (PHE). PHE will set the strategic objectives for containment of an infectious disease, and will make requests of the University to support those objectives as necessary.

The University’s response will be guided and supported by the Major Incident ManagementGroup (IMG). This group is convened as one group of the University’s Incident and Crisis Management Framework.

The response procedures are intended to be comprehensive. They are designed to provide support to staff who face difficult circumstances, and enable them to act appropriately. Some staff members/departments at the University will have specific and key roles to play in responding to an occurrence of infectious disease at the University. These roles are clearly defined within this procedure.

3 Definitions

Three key terms are used in this document:

A probable case is when a doctor deems that an infectious disease is the most likely clinical diagnosis of a sick patient.

A confirmed case is when an infectious disease has been confirmed following laboratory analysis of patient blood samples.

An outbreak will be declared, and cases of infectious diseases deemed to be related, if the following circumstances apply: •

an incident in which two or more people experiencing a similar illness are linked in time or place; •

a greater than expected rate of infection compared with the usual background rate for the place and time where the outbreak has occurred; •

a single case for certain rare diseases such as diphtheria, botulism, rabies, viral haemorrhagic fever or polio; or •

a suspected, anticipated or actual event involving microbial or chemical contamination of food or water1 .

There are two separate response procedures articulated within the document: • Procedures for responding to a single probable case, or single confirmed case of infectious disease. • Procedures for responding to an outbreak of infectious disease.

3 Actions for a single probable or single confirmed case

The procedures listed below will be enacted when infectious disease is deemed by a doctor to be the most likely clinical diagnosis of a sick patient (probable case), or when Infectious Disease has been confirmed following laboratory analysis of patient blood samples (confirmed case).

Normally, Public Health England will give the go ahead to enact these procedures following consultation with a patient’s GP or attending clinician, or following a positive laboratory result. If PHE is not the first to be aware of a probable or confirmed case, then whoever does have this information should take responsibility for ensuring that PHE is notified immediately.

The response procedures will not be enacted in the event that an individual is suspected to have an infectious disease, or where infectious disease is a possible diagnosis. Any member of staff who suspects that a student may have an infectious disease should refer them immediately for medical help, calling the NHS 111 service, or calling 999 in an emergency, and await further instruction.

Normally, in terms of communicating with students, PHE will make direct contact with close contacts of patients with an infectious disease. The University will contact wider groups of students with pre-prepared messages if considered necessary.

It is vital that only advice provided within this document or that provided by a medical professional is passed on to staff and students.

Initial Response

Public Health England (PHE) will inform the Head of Student Services of a confirmed or probable case.

PHE will also notify any relevant specialist third party organisations, for example the meningitis charities.

The Head of Student Services will notify (for information) all members of the IMG to ensure they are on standby and ready to respond if necessary. He/she will also inform the Students’ Union Chief Executive and the relevant Head of School

In all cases of infectious disease, the Head of Student Services or nominee will liaise closely with Public Health England (PHE). The University will normally respond to an occurrence of infectious disease by carrying out actions recommended or required by PHE. PHE has a number of other responsibilities which include: •

To notify that there has been an occurrence of an infectious disease. • With the University’s help as required, to identify any close contacts of the patient and

to trace and notify them of the situation (this includes relatives). To instruct close contacts to contact their GP immediately (which may or may not be

the SHS). Students not registered with a GP are advised to xxx To notify all other GPs in the local area. • In cases where the infectious disease is not

meningitis, to provide advice on the notifications distributed and information provided to staff is

appropriate to the particular infectious disease that has occurred.

Students Service will

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liaise regularly with PHE and be appropriately prepared to support all students who require it. •

be the point of contact for all new queries from PHE. identify and notify members of staff who are in a position of responsibility to the close

contacts of the patient (e.g. Residence Warden, Personal Tutor, Head of School). • Based on information provided by PHE about the likely wider impact of the particular

case, liaise with the Head Marketing and Communications and DVC to disseminate notifications to appropriate groups of students and staff within 24 hours of the initial notification where possible. •

consult with the DVC on the appropriateness of sending a mass communication to all students and all staff. •

help identify the most appropriate member of staff to maintain contact with the family(ies) of the student(s) affected.

In the case of death, ensure the implementation of the procedure for a student or staff death

help identify close contacts within Residence/Hall as necessary ensure any concerned students are advised and supported appropriately If requested by PHE, make building plans available. These may be used to help

identify the likely spread of disease and close contacts. consider options for large scale residential response to any occurrence of outbreak.

School/ Registry will:

identify close contacts within School as necessary ensure any concerned students are advised and supported appropriately ensure any implications with regards to assessments (exams, assessment deadlines

etc.) are considered and dealt with accordingly. • provide contact details for specific groups of students at request of the Protocol

Coordinator.

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Procedure 9: Pandemic illness

A pandemic is an illness that spreads rapidly to affect most countries and regions around the world. Although it is considered that a pandemic of avian flu or swine flu is now less likely, these procedures have been drawn up to ensure that planning is undertaken for such an eventuality should it occur.

1 Priorities during a pandemic

The main priorities for the University during a pandemic will be

Providing guidance and support to students and staff who become ill (particularly those from overseas who might not be able to get help and support from others locally);

Continuing operations with potentially high absence rates of staff and student (noting that government advice is that everyone should plan to continue everyday activities as normally as possible during a pandemic) or having to scale back operations such as teaching because of high rates of absence;

Implementing infection control measures in support of national efforts to slow the spread of the virus and deciding whether scaling back of operations or partial closure would be necessary as an infection control measure.

2 Response coordination

Response coordination will be the responsibility of the Major Incident ManagementGroup under the Emergency and Business Continuity procedures.

3 Communications

All external enquiries will be managed by the Communications Team and the DVC. There should be a series of bulletins for staff and students regarding the pandemic. There should also be a range of communications utilised to ensure that the bulletins reach both those with and without internet access. More detailed information will be provided as the pandemic affect increases. All communications must be consistent with messages being issued by the Department of Health, local NHS Trusts and the Health Protection Agency.

There will be a single portal for staff and students to access all relevant information. The information will take the form of:

Front of house web page Telephone numbers

o NHS direct o University help lineso University notification number o Department of Health information line

Webpageso University specific informationo Department of Health o Health Protection Agencyo Foreign and Commonwealth Office (travel advice)o NHS direct.

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The main public health messages are likely to be:

Stay at home if you are ill or if you are a close contact of someone ill Adopt good hygiene, e.g. scrupulous hand washing How to obtain antiviral medicines

Information on face masks Those who remain well should carry on with daily life as normal

These messages will be displayed on the University’s web page dealing with the pandemic.

4 Infection control

Our main infection control measures will be:

Requiring staff and students showing symptoms of illness to either stay or go home immediately and not to return to the University until they are symptom free; Those already at home must report that they are absent to their line manager and on the notification telephone number.

Enhanced cleaning, using normal cleaning materials, of surfaces which are most likely to be routes by which infection can be transmitted (for example, door handles, toilets, lift buttons) and possibly hand gel dispensers in key locations like those in hospitals.

A campaign, in support of the government’s campaign, to encourage good standards of hand and respiratory hygiene along with provision of necessary hygiene materials (e.g. additional bins for tissues along with hand wipes/gels).

It should not be necessary to scale back lectures and other face to face teaching activities for reasons of infection control, but the local NHS Health Protection Team would closely monitor the spread of the virus and would inform the University if this advice changed.

5 Role of the IMG

The IMG will:

• Prepare to plan effective communication in the event of a pandemic • Liaise with SMG members (Sliver Group) to maintain core activities • Clarify the circumstances under which closure of the University would be necessary • Identify the staff and buildings which are likely to be commandeered by public authorities

6 Human Resources

Human Resources will need to address protocols for such matters as sending home members of staff who are showing symptoms of illness, absences during a pandemic, working from home and transfer of staff to other duties if it is necessary in order to maintain key functions.

7 Support for Students

Overall responsibility for student support will lie with the DVC and Head of Student Services. They will need to take additional steps to encourage students to register with a local GP practice and ensure students play more active roles in looking out for each other. This would be emphasised further on the University web page.

In the event of a pandemic, the ask students to inform the University if ensure that they are aware that if they are ill they can request information or assistance with matters such as the

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collection of anti-viral medicines from pharmacies. Student absences would be recorded centrally on the student record system so that absences across the University could be monitored and the information used to inform decisions regarding student progression.

Student Services will also form a pool of paid helpers to provide care for students who are ill and who had no one else to care for them. They will also ensure the main providers of student accommodation have developed joint plans to provide adequate support to University’s students regardless of whether they are staying in University owned or privately owned accommodation.

Student Services would also be responsible for the Flu buddy scheme as set out in Appendix C.

7 Halls of residence

It will be necessary to continue to operate halls of residence and Student Services will need to work with third party providers to ensure that this happens. The key services to the halls of residence must ensure there are adequate stocks of cleaning materials available and stocks of foodstuffs for supply to occupants confined to their rooms due to infection.

8 Recruitment and admissions

Admissions policies may need to be changed to cover circumstances resulting from a pandemic including:

Students who are unable to submit applications by deadlines; Students unable to attend for interview in subjects where this is currently a

requirement

Students who have been unable to sit qualifying exams or who have not received results of exams;

Students who wish to defer entry.

There are a number of professional bodies and external organisations such as qualifications authorities whose guidance/approval is needed before the University’s policies can be amended to cover such circumstances.

The Student Recruitment and Admissions teams may require plans to bring in staff from elsewhere in the University to support the admissions process if they have high levels of absence among their own staff should the pandemic occur at a point in the admissions cycle at which this is necessary.

9 School/Department plans

Each School and Department must include in its business continuity plan contingencies for the following:

Continuing operations but with high levels of staff and student absences; The University being closed for teaching; Complete closure of the University (although this is considered to be an unlikely

scenario).

The Schools and Departments will need to identify those functions which must be maintained through periods of staff absence (e.g. teaching, admissions and examinations), those services which could be discontinued for short periods (e.g. most research activities) and

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those which could be discontinued for longer periods (e.g. field trips). Their continuity planning for a pandemic must include the following:

Identifying areas where cross training of staff is required to enable them to undertake tasks which are not their normal tasks;

Considering alternatives to face to face teaching (e.g. use of web-based teaching resources);

Liaising with Registry to ensure arrangements are in place to allow students to progress in the event of disruption to teaching or examinations either because of staff absences or student absences;

Difficulties which might be experienced if placements for certain groups of students are not available (e.g. for Nursing students in hospitals).

10 Student progression

Registry will be responsible for ensuring that there is a commonly applied policy across the University designed to minimise the impact of the pandemic on students’ progression and enabling students to complete their awards as required.

Arrangements will be made to provide the necessary academic advising support for students whose studies are affected by any pandemic event.

11 Teaching

It is the University’s intention that teaching will continue during a pandemic. It is, however, acknowledged that in some instances, where staff are absent, it may not be possible to continue with ‘normal’ teaching. Discussions with Schools and Academic Board must take place to identify alternative methods of delivery which would be available to students in the event of staff absence. It is not intended that such alternatives will be a direct replacement for all scheduled teaching, rather that students would be able to continue to engage with their subject in the event of a temporary suspension of ‘normal’ teaching activities.

12 Examinations

During a pandemic, priority would be given to students in their final year of degree programmes. Arrangements need to be made for returning students to sit examinations at the next available and appropriate time.

13 Graduations

Graduation ceremonies may be cancelled as appropriate. Alternative arrangements being made for a subsequent in-person events.

14 Overseas travel

Any staff travelling will be required to follow government advice

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Appendix C: Flu Information about ‘Flu Friends’ or ‘Flu Buddies’

The flu friend/buddy scheme, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NHS, will enable those who are not affected by the virus to give support to those who have become ill with flu.

A flu friend/buddy should be someone who you trust. This is important as you may have to share with them some personal information that a medical professional would need to know.

Your flu friend/buddy could be a friend, family member, next door neighbour, fellow student or work colleague. They will keep in touch and help you look after yourself if you develop flu. Should they develop flu you will be expected do the same for them. You will therefore need to make sure you have each other’s contact details such as phone numbers and possibly family contact details.

What should I do now?

Confirm a network of ‘flu friends’ – friends and relatives – who could help you if you fall ill. They could collect medicines and other supplies for you so you do not have to leave home and possibly spread the virus. Know your NHS number and those of other family members and keep them in a safe place. It is not essential to have your NHS number in order to receive treatment, but it can help NHS staff to find your health records. You will be able to find your NHS Number on your medical card or other items such as prescribed medication, GP letter or hospital appointment card/letter. Make sure you have adequate quantities of cold and cough remedies in your medicine cupboard in case you or your family are affected by flu.

What do I do if I am told I have the pandemic illness?

You’ll need to notify the University - check at https://bcm.uwl.ac.uk to find out how to do this.

If you are diagnosed as having the virus, you may be offered antiviral medication such as Tamiflu or Relenza to help fight the illness.

If this is the case, you will be provided with a unique medical number/reference for your flu friend/buddy to either collect your medication voucher from your doctor’s surgery or to use when collecting your medication from either a pharmacist or a designated collection centre.

You will be asked for the full name of your flu friend/buddy who will collect your medicine. You will then be informed of your collection centre or nearest pharmacist. You will need to pass on this information to your flu friend/bubby together with your unique medical number/reference. Otherwise they will not be able to obtain your medication.

If you are a student, make sure your flu buddy knows how to contact your tutor/course leader and Student Services – see the section below for useful numbers and e-mail addresses.

If you are a member of staff, make sure your flu buddy knows how to contact your manager/department and Human Resources – see the section below for useful numbers and e-mail addresses.

What is expected of me if I am a Flu Friend/Buddy?

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The flu friend/buddy helps those with flu by ensuring they are well stocked up with groceries, especially fluids, and by making regular welfare checks. This ensures that the individual does not have to leave their accommodation, which speeds up recovery and helps prevent the virus from spreading in the general population.

Flu friends/buddies will also be expected to collect all necessary medication. Before the flu friend/buddy can collect the medication they will need to ensure they take proof of identity for themselves as well as proof of identity for the patient (medical reference number – see above). Suitable proof of identity includes passports, driving licenses, utility bills, cheque books etc. It is suggested that these documents are found now and put somewhere handy so they are easily accessible

It is suggested that flu friends/buddies leave any necessary medicines, groceries etc on the front doorstep and speak to the affected person on the telephone, so there is no need for face to face contact or risk of spreading the virus further

It is important that the Flu Friend doesn’t get too close to the victim to minimise the risk of becoming infected themselves

Students living alone should:

Arrange with two of your friends to be flu buddies. A flu buddy is someone who will keep in touch and help you look after yourself if you developed flu. You’ll do the same for them. Make sure you have each other’s phone numbers.

If you have not already done so then it is important to register with a GP now before you fall ill. You should register with the local GP surgery where you live. You can find the nearest GP to you using the NHSchoices website www.nhs.uk using the search facility on their homepage.

If you are in the Paragon Halls of Residence then you should be able to register with the Florence Rd Surgery in Ealing, on 020 8567 2111 or visit: www.florenceroadsurgery.nhs.ukIf you are living in the Reading Halls of Residence at King's Road then your nearest surgery is Eldon Rd Surgery. Telephone: 0118 939 1919 or visit: www.nhs.uk and search for Eldon Road Surgery using the search facility on their homepage.

Keep in regular touch with your parents or friends to let them know how you are. This will avoid inundated the University switch board with calls from anxious parents and friends

Ensure your parents, flu friends/buddies are made aware of the University swine flu webpage where relevant information has been made available.

Make sure that your flu friends/buddies have your doctors contact details, how to contact accommodation wardens if you are in University halls of residence, how to contact Student Services in the case of students and Human Resources in the case of staff.If you have moved address since beginning at University please ensure you inform the data teamWhat if I cannot find a flu friend/buddy?

Students

If you cannot find a flu friend/buddy you will need to contact Student Services, who will ensure you are allocated a flu friend/buddy.

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http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/GP.aspx?pid=C961D5C1-A0F3-4A5E-A317-27B67D15717E

http://www.florenceroadsurgery.nhs.uk/pages/pv.asp?p=elflrd1

http://www.nhs.uk/

Staff

If you live alone and cannot find a flu friend/buddy you will need to contact your line manger/department so that arrangements can be made for a work colleague to become your flu friend/buddy.

Useful contact information

University SwitchboardTel: 020 8579 5000

Student ServicesEaling and Brentford campusesTel: 020 8231 2573E-mail: [email protected]

Human ResourcesTel: Call the Switchboard on 020 8579 5000 and ask to speak to a member of the HR

team for your School.E-mail: [email protected]

Paragon Student Lets (Notting Hill Housing Association)Tel: 020 8560 1561E-mail: [email protected]: www.paragonlets.com

Students’ UnionTel 020 8231 2280E-mail: [email protected]: http://uwlsu.co.uk/

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http://uwlsu.co.uk/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.paragonlets.com/




Procedure 10: Lockdown procedures

1 Introduction

1.1 The aim of these procedures is to provide the University with the capacity to react and recover quickly during a crisis.

“A lockdown of a building or group of buildings is an emergency procedure intended to secure and protect occupants who are in the proximity of an immediate threat. This procedure is used when it may be more dangerous to evacuate a building than to stay inside. By controlling entry/exit and movement within a facility, emergency personnel are better able to contain and handle any threats”.

1.2 The purpose of this lockdown procedure is therefore to minimise access or exit to or from rooms/buildings on campus to reduce the risk of injury or danger to staff, students or visitors. The lockdown procedure will help prevent people moving into danger areas and preventing or frustrating the attackers accessing a site (or part of), through physical measures in response to a threat, either external or internal.

1.3 This document is formulated based on the unique nature of our learning environment and in conjunction with guidance on Developing Dynamic Lockdown Procedures provided by the National Counter Terrorism Security office (NaCTSO). The procedures are developed to dynamically lockdown the University campuses in response to a fast moving incident such as a firearms or weapons attack, either directly at the site or in the vicinity.

1.4 These procedures are designed to cover a variety of scenarios including full or partial lockdown.

1.5 Due to the fast moving nature of incidents that require lockdown it is important that all university staff should act quickly and effectively. Staff and students should in addition to the procedures outlined in this document, familiarise themselves with ‘Stay Safe’ principles (Run, Hide, Tell) which give some additional simple actions to consider during an incident and the information that armed officers may need in the event of a firearms and weapons attack. Full guidance is contained on the NaCTSO: http://www.nactso.gov.uk/.

2 Authority to Implement Lockdown procedure

2.1 A lockdown would be implemented when requested by the Police, the Vice Chancellor or members of VCE in accordance with the Business Continuity and Incident Management Plan. Under circumstances where a delay in seeking direction from the Vice Chancellor or other member VCE would result in significant risks to the lives of the University community, lockdown procedures may be initiated immediately by Security.

3 Incidents Requiring a Lockdown

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http://www.nactso.gov.uk/

3.1 These examples are not exhaustive or absolute but reflect the type of situation that may require a lockdown. Person(s) armed with a firearm or weapon on campus property Gunshots directed at or near the University campus Police incidents involving dangerous person(s) that are adjacent to or within a

short distance of the campus Intruders Hazardous chemicals spills, gas leaks, electrical conditions, or disasters close to

the campus A reported incident / civil disturbance in the local community (with the potential to

pose a risk to staff and students in the University).4 Responsibilities

4.1 The Head of Security or the Health and Safety Manager will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the lockdown in conjunction with Bouygues and the Emergency Services.

4.2 The Incident Management Group (as detailed in the UWL Business Continuity and Incident Management Plan) will oversee the lockdown where possible and appropriate.

4.3 All academic staff who have students in class or other staff who are in meetings or otherwise in control of students at the time of the lockdown become responsible for those students at that time. Staff who have visitors should behave in the same way. Students/visitors without staff (eg those in open areas such as the Heartspace or Haven) will be directed to the nearest classroom or safe building building/room by members of Security or Fire Marshalls. Staff should follow directions from line management, security, fire marshals and/or communication received to initiate lockdown.

4.4 Heads of School/Department should be familiar with the procedures and ensure that staff are aware of them and the guidance on ‘Run, Hide, Tell.

4.5 The SU should also be made aware of the procedures and ensure that their staff are appropriately informed.

Lockdown Procedures5 Notification

5.1 A notification to occupants to lockdown may be sent by UWL Security, Emergency Response Personnel (Health and Safety Office, Fire Marshalls or First Aiders), SMS Alert, Blackboard, All UWL email Users Announcement, or from Head of Schools. Colleges and Central Services Departments or an academic. Since each building on campus is unique, individuals may receive notifications to lockdown through various means.

5.2 When the university receives request to initiate lockdown procedure, some of the following communication tools are used to deliver notifications during the incident:

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UWL Announcement (broadcast directly to all staff and student emails) SMS/Text Alert to all UWL issued Business mobile devices, Blackboard “Pop up” on employees computers / internal messaging systems Website (updates will be posted on intranet and student portal of uwl.ac.uk) Blast FM (Listen via the Blast website - http://uwlblastmedia.com., the TuneIn

radio app 2-way Radio Communication (Security, IT, Events, UWLSU and Core FM staff only) Word of mouth (face-to-face Security and emergency Responders requests)

6 Upon alert to Lockdown

6.1 It is essential for the safety of occupants and emergency responders that individuals comply with instructions provided by emergency personnel at all times.

6.2 If you are in a classroom, room or office:

Stay there, secure the door and windows and wait further instructions (or escort from emergency personnel)

If the door does not lock, barricade the door with tables and chairs If you are in a corridor, go into the closest office not already secured and lock or

barricade the door and windows Close curtains or blinds where possible Stay away from windows and doors If known threat is from a bomb or incendiary device and there is insufficient time

to run, hide behind a concrete pillar with 100 metres from the device if in open area or 30 metres in between buildings

Stay low below window level and be quiet Cell phones should be put on quiet or vibrate mode. Do not make non-essential calls Follow instructions from emergency personnel only If the fire alarm is activated, remain where you are and await further instructions

from emergency personnel, unless you smell smoke or see fire in your immediate vicinity

If possible, monitor www.uwl.ac.uk for updates. Be aware of alternate exits if it becomes necessary to flee.

6.3 If you are directed by police to leave your secured area, assists others in moving as quietly and as quickly as possible.

6.4 If you are off-campus, do not return and follow instructions from campus notification system.

7 Actions to Avoid

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http://www.uwl.ac.uk/

http://uwlblastmedia.com/

7.1 DO NOT do the following:

open doors once it has been secured until you are officially advised “all clear” or are certain it is emergency personnel at the door.

use or hide in toilets travel down long corridors assemble in large open areas (e.g. refectories) respond to anyone at the door until an “all clear” message is received DO NOT

call 999 unless you have immediate concerns for your safety, the safety of others, or feel you have critical information that will assist emergency personnel in the response

sound the fire alarm in the building unless there is a fire. People may be placed in harm’s way when they are attempting to evacuate the building.

8 Actions when the police arrive

8.1 Follow instructions from police at all times to avoid harm and ensure the best possible response

Keep your EMPTY hands raised and visible Remain calm and follow instructions Avoid pointing and yelling The first police officers to arrive will not respond to or aid those who may be

injured. They will go directly to the intruder or source of the threat. Know that help for the injured is on the way The area is a crime scene. Police may secure all witnesses until identified for

questioning.

9 Following the Lockdown

9.1 When the condition causing the lockdown has been eliminated, an “all clear – lockdown is over” announcement will be made as appropriate.

9.2 Once the Lockdown is over, you should:

Cooperate with emergency personnel to assist in an orderly evacuation Proceed to the designated assembly area if advised The police may require individuals to remain available for questioning following a

lockdown University security and emergency response staff may be present as you exit

from buildings to provide additional information

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10 Full Lockdown – External Threat

10.1 A full lockdown will be instigated when the university receives from the police or confirmed and verifiable source, of an immediate threat to the University or in close proximity and is likely to escalate to the University campus. A full lockdown may be the escalation of a partial lockdown.

10.2 In a full lockdown entrance and exit from the campus will be made impossible in so far as the threat remains curtailed outside the university perimeter.

10.3 Some of the possible incident under this category are: Firearms and weapons attack Hostile vehicle attack Biological/Chemical attacks A warning being received regarding a risk locally, of Biological/Chemical attacks,

air pollution (smoke plume, gas cloud etc.) A reported incident / civil disturbance in the local community (with the potential to

pose a risk to staff and student in the university)

10.4 The lockdown will be authorised as outlined in 2 above. The notification of the lockdown will be made as appropriate to the incident.

10.5 Security will secure all perimeter gates/car park barriers into the campus where present, including main entrance doors, access controlled doors, turnstiles/barriers which can be manually/remotely locked . Security staff should not put themselves in any danger if the source of the threat is obvious.

10.6 Security will remotely monitor the threat(s) or activities via the University networked CCTV camera system from a safe and secure location and provide/share important information with the police or University emergency response team.

11 Partial Lockdown – Internal Threat

11.1 A partial lockdown means that all access and exit routes leading outside the safe buildings are locked and people may not exit or enter the buildings in order to keep the threat away. Some of the possible incident under this category are:

A warning received regarding a risk locally, of air pollution (smoke plume, gas cloud etc.)

A reported incident / civil disturbance in the local community (with the potential to pose a risk to staff and student in the university)

An intruder in an area of the campus A suspect package in an area of the campus Gas leaks or flooding in parts of the campus

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11.2 The lockdown will be authorised as outlined in 2 above. The notification of the lockdown will be made as appropriate to the incident.

11.3 Security and emergency response staff secure the safe parts of the campus, all access and exit points in both public and private areas of the site as predefined will be secured to keep the threat at bay until emergency services arrive on site.

11.4 Security and emergency response staff will stop people leaving or entering the site and direct people away from the danger.

11.5 All staff, students and visitors remain in the affected building and external doors and windows locked.

11.6 Free movement may be permitted within, but not between buildings dependent upon circumstances

11.7 All outside activity or areas of congregation (refectory, cafes etc.) to cease immediately, student and staff follow instructions from security/emergency response staff and return to the safe building(s).

11.8 In the event of an air pollution issue, air vents and mechanical ventilation can be closed or shut down (where possible) as an additional precaution. Emergency Services will advise as to the best course of action in respect of the prevailing threat.

11.9 In the event of gas leaks and flooding, gas safety valves and water supply valves should be closed (where possible).

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