'I dealt with so many calls and it lives with me today'

THERE is no doubt that the Kegworth air disaster was the biggest incident I had to manage during my 42-year career in nursing.

When I got back from church that night, I received the phone call from the hospital and agreed with the senior A&E consultant to activate the major incident plan. Then I reported for duty.

The major incident response plan is launched when major accident-receiving hospitals are forced to deal with such events like Kegworth, when either the number of casualties or the nature of the injuries are likely to disrupt the hospital's normal services.

It was a huge operation at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary but one which ran like clockwork. It was very much a team effort.

As director of nursing, it was my responsibility to ensure that the DRI had a plan in place in accordance with national guidelines.

But I wasn't alone in being involved in the major incident plan.

All key medical people from the hospital were asked to come in.

On the night of the Kegworth air crash, the hospital received the call from the ambulance service.

We were told what had happened and immediately our A&E flying squad, with a small team of doctors and nurses, were dispatched to the scene.

I got my call and in accordance with our hospital procedure, I activated the cascade call-out procedure to senior clinicians, heads of departments and managers.

I arrived at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary at about 9pm and went straight to the office in A&E, which had already been designated as the control centre. At this stage, we did not know exactly how many casualties to expect but given the nature of the accident, we had some idea of the type of injuries there would be.

A key function of the control centre was to coordinate the hospital's response, to liaise with the ambulance service, which was the main line of communication with people at the scene, and with the police who helped with the identification of casualties.

Police HQ was the first point of contact for inquiries from concerned relatives and friends and that was key in trying to link casualties with their families.

The nature of the incident at Kegworth required a response from three hospitals – Leicester Royal Infirmary, the Queen's Medical Centre, in Nottingham, and the DRI.

This did, unfortunately, cause some confusion for relatives who were trying to trace and identify casualties and work out which hospital they had been transferred to.

To this day, I believe that our response was amazing. Everyone worked together to provide an appropriate level of response to the injured. We also managed to minimise the disruption to normal services.

Everyone – whether senior clinicians, managers, non-clinical support staff, the chaplaincy and volunteers – all worked to ensure patients and relatives were given a high standard of care and support.

The response from the police, ambulance, social services and voluntary agencies was great.

The Kegworth air disaster was a good example of how inter-agencies can work well together.

About an hour-and-a-half after I arrived, we discovered that the casualty inquiry line was overloaded and our switchboard at the hospital was also inundated with inquiries.

I took the decision to set up a phone line in one of the offices near to accident and emergency so we could deal with inquiries directly, or divert callers to either the QMC or Leicester.

I dealt with many of the calls that night. And it's that experience which still lives with me today.

I had to respond to inquiries from people from all over the country, including Northern Ireland, where the plane was heading.

As the night passed, colleagues would bring me information on the casualties who had been brought to us. I knew their condition and what was happening to them and I was able to pass some of these details on to worried relatives.

The hardest part of the job was when I had no information to give.

And this became more difficult as the night went on. As you can imagine, I was having to deal with people who had sadly lost a relative in the disaster.

It was great when I was able to give good news and reassurance. The sense of relief on the other end of the phone was so tangible – as was the distress and grief when the news wasn't good.

I remained on the end of the phone until about 8.30am the following morning.

Looking back, I don't think this was the best thing for one individual to do.

But I wouldn't let go until I felt that I'd done all I could to respond to those who desperately needed information.

Following an evaluation of the response to the major incident plan, the rules were amended. It now includes a patient liaison service that would be activated in the event of a major incident.

It was 9.30 the following morning when I got home. I had a shower and a short rest before returning to the hospital to meet Margaret Thatcher.

It was only after the incident that I was able to realise the enormity of the event.

I admit I let my emotions show as I recalled the devastating impact that the accident had had on so many individuals.

Over the next few days, I had the opportunity to meet patients and their relatives.

It was good to hear how much they had appreciated my conversations with them over the telephone.

A flurry of VIPs continued to arrive at the DRI and if I recall correctly, meeting Bobby Charlton was the highlight for many members of staff and patients.

I count it a privilege to have been in such a key position during this event and to have been some help to those people at their hour of greatest need.