21.05.12
BTP officers to provide medical support on Tube
Medically trained British Transport Police (BTP) officers are to be deployed on the Tube to attend to ill passengers more quickly and reduce service delays.
20 officers have received advanced training on a four-week course in Pre Hospital Care, accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons. They will patrol key locations around the network and have access to two fast response vehicles.
Passenger incidents make up a third of all delays on the Tube and people becoming ill make up a large proportion of these. The BTP officers will be able to assess the situation and administer first aid to ill passengers.
Nigel Holness, operations director at London Underground, said: “Looking after our passengers is our top priority and through working with the BTP to provide these medically trained officers we will be able to ensure passengers receive a high standard of care quickly.
“Their introduction will also mean that other passengers won’t face unnecessary delays when an incident takes place and they will be particularly important during the summer when we welcome millions of extra visitors from around the world.”
British Transport Police chief superintendent Nicki Watson said: “Working together with TfL and the LAS, we have been able to give the officers an enhanced level of medical training. It will allow them to quickly respond when passengers are taken ill, and assess the safety of others who could be affected, for example, those trapped on a train in a tunnel for a long period of time.
“The 20 officers have been drawn from our existing resources, but we are recruiting new officers to replace them, so they represent a significant enhancement to policing on the Tube and DLR. They are also available for other response and patrol activity when their enhanced medical skills are not in demand.”
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Image c. Passenger Focus and newspics