The panel discussion, led by BID chair Paul Davis (right), during MyMiltonKeynes Business Improvement District's Ready to Respond forum.
MILTON Keynes has taken a major step towards becoming the first city in the UK to declare itself ‘Ready to Respond’ in the event of a major incident.
Businesses, industry leaders and the emergency services have put enhancing the city’s resilience and readiness to act front and centre at a forum organised by MyMiltonKeynes Business Improvement District.
Delegates heard from experts including from Thames Valley Police and Counter Terrorism Policing South East, each of whom outlined how best to prepare for unexpected emergencies. They also highlighted important national initiatives such as ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) and SCaN (See, Check and Notify).
Professor Sir Keith Porter, co-founder of the charity CitizenAID and one of the UK’s leading experts in clinical traumatology, spoke about the critical importance of immediate first aid following a major incident. CitizenAID is advocating for a shift in official guidance from Run, Hide, Tell to Run, Hide, Tell – and When It’s Safe, Treat.
This approach emphasises the need for the public to be ready to provide lifesaving treatment once it is safe to do so, rather than waiting for emergency services to arrive.
The Ready to Respond initiative is being led by paramedic Joe McMahon, whose family own the Pink Punters nightclub in Bletchley.
He is launching the campaign, in partnership with CitizenAID, which focuses on providing businesses, other organisations, communities, families and individuals access to simple training, basic equipment and easy-to-follow guidelines and, where these are not available, empowering people to improvise in order to help save lives.
“Throughout my 40 years as a paramedic, I have responded to countless incidents both large and small where people and organisations were simply unprepared for the unfolding emergency,” said Joe.
“Having witnessed too many preventable deaths and unnecessary suffering due to a lack of early, simple care such as controlling severe bleeding, I am passionate about ensuring that individuals, families, communities, organisations and businesses are equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and tools to respond effectively in a crisis.”
The event, hosted at Unity Place in Central Milton Keynes, featured a presentation by Thames Valley Police on its work with Project Servator in Milton Keynes. It is an initiative designed to deter and detect criminal activity through unpredictable, high-visibility police deployments.
It also featured a panel discussion with emergency planners from Milton Keynes University Hospital, Milton Keynes City Council and centre:mk – one of the UK’s largest shopping centres – who shared insights into how they are strengthening their own preparedness plans to keep the city safe.
MyMiltonKeynes BID’s chief executive Jill Farnsworth said: “Nobody wants to imagine a major incident happening in Milton Keynes but the reality is that emergencies can occur anywhere. We are proud to be part of the Milton Keynes Ready to Respond campaign and drive this forward with our businesses.
“It is far better to be prepared and ready to respond than to be forced to learn difficult lessons after the fact.”
Find out more at www.mymiltonkeynes.co.uk/ready-to-respond.
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