7/7 Revealed: The Missing Kit and Poor Planning

[Wokeman]

Sunday, May 28th, 2006
Doors did not open, phones did not work, first aid boxes were empty and staff unprepared, an inquiry into the London bombings rescue effort will say. Sophie Goodchild reports.

A catalogue of communication failures undermined the “heroic” efforts of emergency crews, doctors and commuters to rescue victims injured in the London bombings.

The official inquiry into the response to the disaster has found that the recommendations made nearly two decades ago, after the King’s Cross fire, have not been acted on.

The three-volume report, which includes the harrowing testimonies of survivors, will make more than 50 proposals for improving the handling of major emergencies.

The members of the 7 July review committee, who will present their findings to ministers on 5 June, are expected to warn that lives could be lost in future unless action is taken immediately.

Fifty-two people died and many more were injured when Islamist extremists launched a series of suicide bomb attacks at Edgware Road, King’s Cross and Aldgate Tube stations and on a double-decker bus. Those involved in the attempt to save badly injured passengers displayed heroism “beyond the call of duty” but were let down by inadequate equipment, a lack of medical supplies and insufficient training for a terror attack, the 7/7 inquiry will conclude.

One Whitehall source, who has seen a draft of the report, said: “If people had not gone far beyond what they were expected to do then it [the number of casualties] would have been an awful lot worse. Individuals acted with heroism even if the technology did not always back them up.”

The areas of concern that will be highlighted in the 7/7 report include:

Communications

Officials relied too heavily on communicating by mobile phone, the review committee is expected to say. It will call for an alternative to mobiles in a crisis. On 7/7, the mobile phone networks were deliberately shut down to enable officials carrying phones with special SIM cards to reach staff. It has now emerged that some senior managers did not have these. The networks also failed because of traffic overload, adding to the widespread confusion. Ambulance crews’ radios also failed and radios did not work underground. It has emerged that it will be another two years before a new digital radio system is introduced, although this was one of the main recommendations made after the King’s Cross fire disaster.

First Aid

Witnesses told the inquiry that despite the great response by emergency services, staff were hindered by a lack of medical supplies. As they rushed to help the injured, they discovered that many of the boxes carrying first aid equipment on Tube carriages were empty and others could not be unlocked. Ambulances were also short of basic equipment such as bandages and tourniquets and there was not enough safety equipment for emergency crews who went into the tunnels. The 7/7 inquiry will highlight the fact that lack of funding contributed to these shortages.
Lack of key personnel

Casualties were ferried to only a handful of London hospitals, because of communication breakdowns. Overstretched staff were not prepared for the extent of the injuries. Great Ormond Street, where some victims were taken, does not have an emergency department, so its staff would not have been expected to be involved in a major incident.

Not prepared

Many Tube workers had not received specific training to deal with terror threats. London Underground says that it does now give its employees regular training.

Walking wounded

The inquiry report will highlight the failure by police to follow guidelines in the official emergency manual on how to take details from witnesses. Some of the injured ending up walking miles away from the disaster scene without their details being taken by officers. One commuter said they tried eight times to give their name and address to an official. Another was told to go home and watch television. The emergency number for casualty information did not work properly and was charged at national rate, a criticism which has been acknowledged by the Metropolitan police.

Jammed doors

Train doors could only be forced open a few inches and emergency lighting underground was poor, making the impact of the Tube bomb blasts hard to determine and hampering the rescue operation.

Mental trauma

The 7/7 review committee will say that psychological support for traumatised victims was “haphazard”. Many were unable to access proper help. The report will call for an overhaul of procedures to ensure people receive the support they need to alleviate long-term problems.

The emergency services say they are already working to improve communications so that they are better prepared in the event of another disaster like the 7 July bombings.

The London Ambulance Service said that it has reorganised its major incident control room so that it can deal more effectively with major incidents.

“The events of 7 July were unprecedented and the courageous and professional actions of our staff and their colleagues from other agencies undoubtedly saved lives,” said Martin Flaherty, the director of operations.

“We have been open about the fact that managers were over-reliant on mobile phones, and we have since provided them with pagers which are more resilient during major incidents.”

The 7/7 committee is planning to follow up its report in November, to see whether on this occasion its recommendations have been implemented.

Additional reporting by Carlo Svaluto Moreolo