Bishop's Stortford vicar joins disaster training programme
A vicar from Bishop's Stortford is one of a number of Hertfordshire community faith and pastoral leaders being trained to give the county's residents emotional support after disasters.
Lessons learned from national tragedies such as the Grenfell fire and Manchester arena terror bombing are behind the programme for those who might experience psychological trauma after life-changing incidents.
Implemented by Hertfordshire County Council's public health department and the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Trust (HPFT) as part of the Hertfordshire Local Health Resilience Partnership, the week-long training was provided to 60 chaplains from a range of organisations.
These include hospitals and hospices, the police, railway services, Stansted Airport, military chaplains, churches and community organisations such as the YMCA.
There were also counsellors from non-faith backgrounds, with the emphasis on providing emotional support which reflects the diversity of the county.
Professor Jim McManus, co-chair of Hertfordshire Local Health Resilience Partnership and director of public health, said: "We hope Hertfordshire will never again experience a major event such as the Hatfield and Potters Bar rail crashes in 2000 and 2002, or the Buncefield fire in 2005, but we have to be prepared should this happen.
"Getting the response right prevents damage to people and organisations. Our training identifies the issues and presents the latest research findings and best practice.
"Chaplaincy and spiritual care teams are ideally placed to understand and respond to traumatic incidents and, for many agencies, have a dedicated role in their emergency response plans. It makes sense to build their skills and expertise in this area."
Cllr Colin Woodward, the Herts county councillor for the Bishop's Stortford West division, said that Father Simon Mansfield, the vicar of All Saints at Hockerill, was one of those taking part and he was hoping to organise further training dates for those unable to attend.
