Major incident recommendations for Jersey

One review made 30 recommendations and also noted health laws needed to be updated

Two Government of Jersey reports have made recommendations for how the island could be better prepared to respond to major incidents.

The Health Protection Review (HPR) was carried out last year to look at how Jersey handled the Covid outbreak.

The Crisis Resilience Improvement Plan (CRIP) took into account incidents like the sinking of a Jersey fishing boat and the flat explosions at Pier Road.

Recommendations, published on Monday, included employing a chief scientist.

The HPR made 30 recommendations and also noted that the States entered the pandemic with out-of-date legislation.

The States said the review was conducted through a series of semi-structured interviews with staff from across the government between January and May 2022.

It said the review found "significant strengths" but also 30 recommendations for improvement, including the need to develop a Health Protection Partnership and the need to update the Public Health Law from 1934.

A major incident was declared when a three-storey residential block on Pier Road, in St Helier, collapsed on 10 December

Director of public health, Prof Peter Bradley, said: "It is good to see that we have strengths in the way our health protection system operates.

"This review, along with the CRIP, will help Public Health Jersey and the wider Government of Jersey understand how we can better deliver services and focus on those areas that need improvement."​

The CRIP was a recommendation of the Independent Covid-19 Review and the HPR.​

Within the CRIP was a detailed response to each Independent Covid Review recommendation, setting out what has been achieved so far and what is planned for each action, alongside reflections on the recent major incidents.

Minister for Home Affairs, Deputy Helen Miles, said: "We have responded to the recommendations of the Independent Covid-19 Review, and identified key areas where improvements are needed to ensure our resilience, reinforce our emergency response capabilities and enhance our crisis communication strategies."

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