Pilot exercise takes place to test how NFRS triages injuries at major incident

An exercise to test how quickly emergency services can assess multiple injured patients has been held in Northampton.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service took part in Ten Second Triage – alongside colleagues from Northamptonshire Police and East Midlands Ambulance Service – to practice how fast the three services could triage fake casualties.

Each emergency service was given their own scenario and responded separately to a staged incident at Northampton College’s Booth Lane campus, using live actors.

Ten Second Triage is a system used by emergency responders at major incidents to identify how urgently someone needs treatment.

When responders arrive on the scene, they will broadly examine patients within ten seconds using colour-coded slap wristbands.

Each colour signifies how injured a person is, so when further responders arrive, they can quickly see who to treat first.

The exercise – which was observed by Chief Fire Officer Nikki Watson (pictured below, left) – was recommended after the Manchester Arena inquiry.

Findings from the inquiry highlighted the triage process needed to be standardised across the emergency services.

It’s hoped learnings from all who took part in the tri-service pilot will be used across the county as Ten Second Triage training continues to evolve.

Operational Exercise Coordinator Aidan Phillips (pictured below, right) said: “Emergency responders now all have a universal system for triaging casualties in the fastest way possible.

“As part of my role we need to make sure the exercises we host are as realistic as possible to assure the roll out of Ten Second Triage training protocols and systems we run will work smoothly at a mass casualty incident.

“Yesterday (May 28) went really well and I’d like to thank Northampton College for hosting us – and our emergency services partners and Northamptonshire Emergency Services Cadets for taking part.”