Emergency Planning: Preparing the Public and Emergency Responders

When planning for emergencies it is important to use statistics and up to date research to inform plans. The relationship between authorities, emergency responders and the public can easily shape the course of actions in an emergency.

Establishing ideas of social identities and group behaviours helps guide respect and legitimacy of the authority in question so that the public are more likely to comply with the instruction.

Holly Carter is a Principal Behavioural Scientist at Public Health England. She shared how important it is to respect public needs in a crisis, highlighting that different groups need to be identified as part of the plans so that they can be catered for in an emergency.

By respecting these needs, authorities have more legitimacy over emergency preparations which the public are more likely to comply with.

The first wave of Covid-19 highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness and the need to improve responses to major incidents. Holly Carter, of Public Health England shared how emergency responders and the public can be best prepared for major incidents and highlighted the importance of using up to date research in planning for emergencies.