Hazardous area response team explained

The Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) is a capability of the NHS ambulance services in the United Kingdom devoted to providing paramedic and enhanced medical care to patients in the "hot zone" of hazardous environments.^[1]

Capabilities

HART is deployed to various hazardous, complex or prolonged incidents. The national capabilities include:

• CBRN/HazMat - CBRNe and hazmat incidents
• High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) - caring for patients with highly contagious diseases including viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola and smallpox.
• USAR Urban Search and Rescue - responding to patients at height, in confined space or collapsed or unstable buildings)
• Water operations - flood and swift water rescue
• MTA - tactical medical operations in terrorist or firearms incidents
• Security operations - supporting police officers during hazardous operations.^[2]

All HART teams within the ambulance services of England & Wales have the same capabilities.^[3] allowing interoperable activities at large scale incidents or planned events such as the Olympic Games or UN 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (CoP26). The Northern Ireland team has additional capabilities covering mountain rescue taskings.

Each HART unit consist of emergency medical personnel, primarily paramedics, who have undergone specialised training at the National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) Education Centre^[4] in the use of safety critical procedures, skills, vehicles and equipment. Their specialised equipment includes personal protective equipment (such as breathing apparatus, hazmat suits, and safe work at height equipment, and flotation devices and for working in water.

Origins

The HART capability originated from a 2004 report on the feasibility of paramedics working in the hot zone or inner cordon of major incidents.^[5] and the programme was established following the 2005 London Bombings.^[6] HART forms part of the health response in support of the National Capabilities Programme being led by the Home Office, which aims to ensure that fewer lives would be risked or lost in the event of a terrorist-related attack or accidental CBRN incident^[2] as part of the government and emergency services' "Model Response" plans.^[7]

Notable deployments

• 2011 Gleision Colliery mining accident, Wales
• 2011 M5 crash, Taunton, Somerset
• 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, London
• 2013 Glasgow helicopter crash
• 2014 Wales summit of NATO, Newport, Wales
• 2017 Manchester Arena bombing
• 2017 Westminster attack, London
• 2017 London Bridge attack
• 2018 Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, Salisbury, Wiltshire
• 2018 Amesbury poisonings, Wiltshire
• 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (CoP 26), Glasgow, Scotland
• 2022 Jersey Building Collapse, St Helier, Jersey
• 2024 Southport stabbing, Merseyside

Fleet

The first generation HART fleet consisted of Iveco Daily, Land Rover Discovery and Volvo XC70 response vehicles, now decommissioned, with a separate Iveco primemover carrying a Polaris 6x6 ATV.

The second generation HART fleet consists of the following vehicles supplied by WAS.^{[8] [9]}

• 3x Primary Response Vehicle (Volkswagen Transporter)^[10]
• 3x Secondary Response Vehicle (Mercedes Sprinter)
• 1x Staff Welfare Vehicle (Mercedes Sprinter)
• MAN 7.5t primemover with Polaris 6x6 ATV^[11]

The operational fleet is supported by 2x Crew Carriers (Mercedes Sprinter converted by Wilker)

Operational areas

HART is operational in every NHS ambulance service in the United Kingdom, although In Scotland they are referred to as the Special Operations Response Team.

!Ambulance Service!Base!General Location

East of England Ambulance Service^[12]	Melbourn	Cambridge
East of England Ambulance Service	Great Notley	Braintree/Stanstead
East Midlands Ambulance Service^[13]	Mansfield	Derby/Sheffield/Bradford
London Ambulance Service^[14]	Cody Road	East London
London Ambulance Service	Isleworth	West London
North East Ambulance Service^[15]	Monkton	Newcastle
North West Ambulance Service^[16]	Ashburton Point	Manchester
North West Ambulance Service	Croxteth	Liverpool
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service	Lissue	Lisburn
Scottish Ambulance Service	AberdeenEdinburgh Glasgow Dundee Inverness Dumfries	Regional
South Central Ambulance Service^[17]	Eastleigh	Southampton
South East Coast Ambulance Service^[18]	Gatwick	Gatwick
South East Coast Ambulance Service	Ashford	Kent/Channel Tunnel
South Western Ambulance Service^[19]	Filton	Bristol
South Western Ambulance Service	Exeter	Devon
Yorkshire Ambulance Service^[20]	Manor Mill	Leeds
West Midlands Ambulance Service^[21]	Oldbury	Birmingham
Welsh Ambulance Service^[22]	Bryncethin	Swansea/Cardiff

Similar capabilities exist within the Isle of Man Ambulance Service.

External links

• National Ambulance Resilience Unit
• Ambulance HART

Notes and References

1. Web site: HART . National Ambulance Resilience Unit . 25 April 2021 . 26 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210426221746/https://naru.org.uk/what-we-do/hart/ . live .
2. Web site: Welcome to SWASFT - Accident and Emergency. 6 November 2020. 2 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201102060225/https://www.swast.nhs.uk/welcome/accident-and-emergency/hazardous-area-response-team. live.
3. Web site: About HART . 2010-04-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100127141138/http://www.ambulancehart.org.uk/about_hart/ . 2010-01-27 . dead .
4. Web site: Education & Training. 27 December 2021. 27 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211227181759/https://naru.org.uk/how-we-work/education-and-training/. live.
5. Leivesley. Sally. Winter 2003–2004 . Bank Station Chemical Attack Simulation Exercise: Issues for Emergency Planners and Local Authorities . Alert. 4–6. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094510/http://www.icpem.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=_okDSQuN2Zs%3D&tabid=153&mid=742. 4 March 2016. 1 December 2013.
6. Web site: How to become a HART paramedic: Hannah's story. 27 December 2021. 27 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211227181756/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6cvt39. live.
7. Web site: The Home Office’s Response to Terrorist Attacks . February 2010 . 26 February 2022 . 26 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220126165232/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228651/7788.pdf . live .
8. Web site: Home - Wietmarscher Ambulanz- und Sonderfahrzeug GMBH. 26 February 2022. 26 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220226185749/https://www.was-vehicles.com/en/home.html. live.
9. Web site: 2016-09-23. New HART Vehicles arrive in Yorkshire. 2021-04-25. NARU. en-US. 25 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210425134220/https://naru.org.uk/new-hart-vehicles-arrive-yorkshire/. live.
10. Web site: Archived copy . 26 February 2022 . 26 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220226185748/https://www.emas.nhs.uk/news/latest-news/2017-news/three-new-vehicles-for-our-hazardous-area-response-team/ . live .
11. Web site: Bevan Group teams up with WAS UK to ensure rapid deployments of. 26 February 2022. 26 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220226185753/https://www.bevangroup.com/news/bevan-group-teams-up-with-was-uk-to-ensure-rapid-deployments-of-specialist-ambulance-crews. live.
12. Web site: Hazardous Area Response Team. 2020-11-06. eastamb.nhs.uk. East of England Ambulance Service. 29 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200829221811/https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/your-service/hazardous-area-response-team.htm. live.
13. Web site: HART. 2020-11-06. emas.nhs.uk. East Midlands Ambulance Service. 21 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201121023204/https://www.emas.nhs.uk/your-service/hart/. live.
14. Web site: Hazardous area response team. 2020-11-06. londonambulance.nhs.uk. September 2017. London Ambulance Service. 2 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201202071920/https://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/calling-us/who-will-treat-you/hazardous-area-response-team/. live.
15. Web site: Hazardous Area Response Team. 2020-11-06. neas.nhs.uk. North East Ambulance Service. 16 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210516063541/https://www.neas.nhs.uk/our-services/emergency-planning/hazardous-area-response-team-(hart).aspx. live.
16. Web site: Handling major incidents. 2020-11-06. nwas.nhs.uk. North West Ambulance Service. 30 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130172903/https://www.nwas.nhs.uk/services/major-incidents/managing-incidents/. live.
17. Web site: Resilience and Specialist Operations. 2020-11-06. scas.nhs.uk. 23 December 2015. South Central Ambulance Service. 10 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201110114834/https://www.scas.nhs.uk/our-services/resilience-and-specialist-operations/. live.
18. Web site: Our Locations. 2020-11-06. secamb.nhs.uk. South East Coast Ambulance Service. 10 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201110224056/https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/our-locations/. live.
19. Web site: Hazardous Area Response Team. 2020-11-06. swast.nhs.uk. South Western Ambulance Service. 2 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201102060225/https://www.swast.nhs.uk/welcome/accident-and-emergency/hazardous-area-response-team. live.
20. Web site: Ambulance service responses. 2020-11-06. yas.nhs.uk. Yorkshire Ambulance Service. 22 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022180347/https://yas.nhs.uk/our-services/emergency-ambulance-service-999/ambulance-service-responses/. live.
21. Web site: Emergency Preparedness. 2020-11-06. wmas.nhs.uk. 6 August 2019. West Midlands Ambulance Service. 24 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201124160059/https://wmas.nhs.uk/emergency-preparedness/. live.
22. Web site: Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response. 2020-11-06. ambulance.wales.nhs.uk. Welsh Ambulance Service.