Project: Psychosocial support for civil
protection forces coping with CBRN
Project tasks & deliverables:
Project rationale:
The risk regarding CBRN situations has increased in almost
all EU Member States. Civil protection forces deployed in
emergency and disaster response operations under CBRN
conditions are exposed to additional risks and pressures
that are likely to cause heavy psychological strain. However,
psychosocial crisis management is in most EU Member
States not yet part of the training programme of specialists
in CBRN.
The project addresses this deficit by developing and testing a
pilot training course for first responders (including volunteers)
and hospital staff who have to cope with CBRN incidents.
Project objective:
Enhancing the efficiency of crisis management and reducing
the long-term effects of psychosocial stress by improving the
preparedness of first responders and their ability to cope
with CBRN incidents.
Starting point:
The adequate use of psychosocial support (PSS) helps
to facilitate crisis management and first response by:
Enhancing the capability of responders to cope
Avoiding long term effects of stress
Improving the coordination during the mission
Fostering the cooperation of the affected
Facilitating risk and crisis communication
Study of the current situation in the EU Member States
regarding CBRN and Psychosocial Support (PSS)
Study of the interface between responders and hospital staff
Curriculum and teaching material for a training course
including exercises (for responders and hospital staff
respectively)
Documentation of ‘Lessons learnt’
Adaption and development of (new) guidelines for
psychosocial support targeted at uniformed services,
volunteers and hospital staff
Recommendations
Two European conferences: the 1st at the beginning, the
2nd at the end of the project to share insights and lessons
learnt, to create awareness and to promote increased
training in the field of psychosocial support in the context
of CBRN
Expected results from the EU-Project
‘CBRN Incidents and PSS’:
At the end of this project, two training courses will have been
developed enabling first responders and hospital staff to cope
with CBRN incidents. The training curricula are developed on
the basis of EU-wide research. During the two-year term of
the project, the training courses will be tested twice by pilot
groups of first responders and hospital staff.
By the end of the project, the training courses and recommen­
dations developed during its implementation, will be translated into English and disseminated for EU-wide application.
The guidelines for psychosocial support, developed within
this project for uniformed services, volunteers and hospital
staff, will be published in English.
Generally, it is expected to raise awareness – EU-wide – for
the importance of and the need for providing psychosocial
support for civil protection forces coping with CBRN.
Fotos: K. Albert: Training „Psychosocial Crisis Management in CBRN incidents“
at the BBK’s Academy for Crisis Management, Emergency Planning and Civil
Protection (AKNZ)
Bundesamt
für Bevölkerungsschutz
und Katastrophenhilfe
The Project Group:
Partners in the Project are:
German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (DE)
Centre of Psychotraumatology, Alexianer Krefeld GmbH (DE)
Impact – Dutch Knowledge & Advice Centre for post-disaster
psychosocial care (NL)
Dirección General de Protección Civil y Emergencias,
Minsterio del Interior (ES)
German Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster
Assistance (DE)
Members of the Steering Committee are:
German Fire Services Association (DE)
British Red Cross and Red Cross EU-Office (UK/BE)
NOFER Institute of Occupational Medicine (PL)
German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW)
Regional Office for Bremen, Lower Saxony (DE)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection
Co-Financed by the
European Commission
European Civil
Protection
About the project:
Coordinating Beneficiary: Bundesanstalt
Technisches Hilfswerk (DE)
The project is co-funded by European Commission,
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and
Civil Protection (DG ECHO); Grant Agreement
No 070401/2010/579071/SUB/C4
Project duration: 2 February 2011 – 31 January 2013