Understanding the diversity of the NHS emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) community in London

Abstract

It could be easy to believe that an emergency impacts us all the same way and that gender, skin tone, ability and religion don't matter when it comes to emergency plans. But this is simply not true. Planning and response to disruptive events needs to consider the individual needs and vulnerabilities of the people involved which can be exacerbated due to gender, race, ethnicity, age, social class and disability. The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought the stark reality of vulnerability and disproportionality into focus, in planning for and responding to major incidents and emergencies. In recognition of this, London's NHS emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) community decided to investigate our own diversity to understand whether we represent Londoners and to use our findings to inform future NHS preparedness for major incidents and emergencies. This paper describes the first part: understanding our own diversity. Armed with this knowledge, we will now strive to be more inclusive of all Londoners in our planning.