Picture this, the sun is shining and snow-capped mountains provide a picturesque backdrop for what’s set to be a stunning winter’s day in the town of Oxford.
Suddenly, a magnitude 7 earthquake strikes along the alpine fault. There’s damage across the township. People are injured and confused. Children have been separated from parents.
The living room roof has collapsed at Karadean aged residential care (ARC) facility and some residents are trapped.
Word comes in that a number of bridges have collapsed, trapping a group of tourists on the TransAlpine express train.
In Oxford, services are responding. An Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) is established in the Oxford Town Hall to coordinate the emergency response and field teams are sent door-to-door to survey resident’s welfare needs.
A welfare centre is set up in the Oxford Area School gymnasium providing first aid for the injured, advice from specialist agencies such as Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ), and a space for people who have been displaced.
At the fire station there’s a ‘buzz’ from the pharmacy, general practice, hospital, St John and the fire service staff who are working to care for existing patients and prepare for the anticipated influx.
This time, it was all part of an emergency preparedness planning exercise held on 27 July, which saw hundreds of people taking part to test their own system response or to role-play the parts of casualties.
Several organisations, including Civil Defence Response Teams, social service providers, emergency services, the Red Cross and SPCA, joined in with the exercise, which was driven as part of the Oxford and Surrounding areas Health Services Development Group’s model of care work.
Kevin Felstead, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Oxford and Surrounding Areas Health Services Development Group, said it was great to see so many people working with energy and enthusiasm as part of the scenario.
“It was great to see members of our community getting involved to play parts in the scenario. The more people involved, building the knowledge of what it takes to respond to emergency situations, the better equipped we’ll be if or when the time comes.”
Felstead, who is also a member of the Oxford Volunteer Fire Brigade echoed the need for having robust systems in place, which can be put into action immediately.
“It’s good practice to have our processes tested and challenged so we can think quickly and creatively about how we might best respond to any given situation, as the need arises,” he said.
“This exercise really highlighted how the various health providers in Oxford can work together in an emergency, and now we’re better equipped to deal with future emergencies.”
For more information about emergency planning and preparedness, visit the Canterbury Primary Response Group (CPRG) website.