Changes to the 'Mass Casualties' Plan

At its session on 24 July 2015, the Council of Government approved and promulgated a number of changes to the emergency response plan defining the country's arrangements in the event of an incident involving mass casualties occurring anywhere in the Grand Duchy.

The plan lays out the emergency procedures aimed at remedying the consequences of a situation resulting or potentially resulting in multiple casualties and mitigating the risk of a major disruption posing a threat to the vital interests or essential needs of all or part of the Grand Duchy or its population. The most recent revision of the 'Mass Casualties' Plan was approved and promulgated by the Council of Government in 2003; it amended three specific points:

• the integration and harmonisation of all procedures in the context of the Crisis Unit's mechanism, similar to the national plans already in existence and adapted recently, under the guidance of or in collaboration with the High Commission for National Protection (HCNP). The existence of crisis management bodies and their involvement are essential when the Plan is triggered;
  
• the resumption of the external communication procedures drawn up by the Government's Information and Press Service (SIP) and their incorporation in the 'Mass Casualties' Plan;
• the straightforward revision or tidying-up of the text by updating particularly the titles of the functions resulting from legislation and regulations in force and directly related to the emergency services.