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NHS England (NHSE) has said community pharmacies should support people caught up in industrial, nuclear and terrorist incidents and anyone exposed to hazardous chemical, biological or radioactive materials.

In its blueprint outlining how NHS resources could be used if a “mass casualty” event occurs, NHSE said primary care services including general practice and pharmacy “may be asked to support the treatment of patients of a lower priority in care settings and assist in managing patients triaged away from emergency departments”.

NHSE also said pharmacies will be able to offer support and advice to people “self-presenting with minor injuries or health concerns following an incident”.

It defined a mass casualty incident as one "where the location, number, severity or type of live casualties requires extraordinary resources” or one “where available healthcare resources are overwhelmed against the casualty demand”. 

Terrorism, hazardous materials or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents

It said a mass casualty incident may be the result of man-made disasters or emergency incidents such as transport or industrial incidents, terrorism, hazardous materials or chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents. NHSE said pharmacist independent prescribers may be utilised in general practice “if lower acuity patients are directed there following emergency department triage”.

“Support may also be requested for NHS 111 and integrated urgent care services and allow for online consultations and the supply of medication to the scene or to treatment centres,” NHSE added. “General practitioners and community pharmacy contractors can support messaging being issued to the public to give reassurance following the incident.” 

NHSE said its blueprint applies “when local and regional health systems require external support to manage the number of casualties, specialist resources to treat casualties” and when a “national co-ordination of assets” is needed.

Insisting its plan should be read alongside its national and regional incident response and mass casualty plans, NHSE added: “When a mass casualty incident occurs, whatever the cause, a comprehensive and integrated healthcare response must be activated immediately.

“This will enable the spectrum of healthcare provision (from the pre-hospital space to the management of patients in secondary and tertiary care, and subsequent recovery or rehabilitation) to rapidly mobilise available resources, ensuring the highest quality patient care is delivered to the greatest number of people possible.”

Pharmacies need 'reassurance about continuation' of their services

When asked to clarify if pharmacies will have the choice of refusing to help someone who has been caught up in a nuclear or radioactive incident or if they suspect they have been the victim of biological terrorism because of concerns about the risk of contamination, NHSE did not respond.

The National Pharmacy Association told Independent Community Pharmacist pharmacies will “need reassurance about the continuation” of their services during a mass casualty incident and “full guidance, training and support from the NHS to ensure they can take on any enhanced role that would be expected of them”.

“Pharmacies are vital parts of the NHS and it is only right that they are utilised to step in to support other colleagues in the event of a mass casualty emergency,” the NPA said.

“The increasing numbers of independent prescribers entering community pharmacies provide valuable opportunity to provide more services to patients and ease the burden on GPs, should they need to be redeployed in an emergency.”