Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans PEEPS Health and Safety Unit

Course Agenda What is a PEEP Legislation PEEPs who needs them Evacuation principles PEEP Needs Responsibilities Constructing a PEEP Questions

What is a PEEP A PEEP is a document that details how the safe evacuation will be conducted of a person with a disability or injury from a building in the event of an emergency situation.

Why do we have to have a PEEP Legislation HSWA (health and safety at work act) 1974 requires employers to provide: Safe means of access; (right of entry). Safe means of egress; (right of exit). This will include safe means of egress in the event of an emergency. General principle here is to demonstrate to attendees that HSWA specifically covers emergency egress. Point can obviously be made that the HSWA covers a great many other things too.

The Regulatory Reform 2006 (Fire Safety) Safe evacuation procedures; Must be pre- planned. Identify the needs of disabled persons. Must ensure that proper arrangements for their assistance to evacuate the building are in place.

DDA Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Requires that disabled people should not be treated less favourably without justification, for a reason which relates to their disability Requirement on duty holders to make “reasonable adjustments” to prevent discrimination Civil law – therefore HSWA takes precedence (I.e. the requirement to ensure emergency egress has been provided takes precedence over the requirement to grant access under the DDA). Again, cost benefit analysis plays a part but in this instance if cost far outweighs benefit. You don’t necessarily have to put lifts into buildings if you can’t afford it, or if planners won’t allow it etc.). Reasonable adjustments can be managerial changes or logistical. Ultimately this is for the courts to decide.

PEEPS – Who Needs Them? Anyone who could have a problem escaping from a building in the event of an emergency. Temporarily impaired Pregnancy, injuries (e.g. broken leg) Permanently impaired hearing, sight, mobility. Others (children) Slide simply conveys that ALL persons that could have problems escaping in the event of an emergency need to be assessed and a PEEP devised. For the purposes of this presentation focus on subsequent slides is solely about the permanently impaired

PEEPS – Who Needs Them? Before we can start we need a mechanism for identifying persons “at risk” Staff Students Scheduled and unscheduled visitors Contractors Simply a discussion to highlight that not only do we need to consider impairments, but that we also need, with the caveat of so far as reasonably practicable (principally visitors and contractors), to consider all people for whom we would have duties under the HSWA.

Emergency Evacuation Principles Historically, emergency procedures have usually been generic “On hearing the alarm, leave by the nearest available exit” We need, to consider the capabilities of individuals Risk Assessment or PEEP Self-explanatory but still worthy of note. This raises a number of issues. What if you can’t hear the alarm, understand the alarm, see the escape route, or readily use the escape route? Or indeed a combination of these factors? Introduce the principles of PEEP – risk assessment by which we determine how a specific person will escape from any given building in an emergency or, where escape is not possible, how they will reach a place of safety.

PEEPs – Identifying Needs Staff Pre-employment questionnaire Diversity “data base” Management referral Students Admissions forms Personal tutors Staff – initially identified via the OH department. Existing staff need to be encouraged to report any impairments to their line management and the diversity coordinator. The key here is to let staff know that their impairment is a management issue and not their problem. Students – Admissions forms – responsibility of the School / departmental admissions tutor to pick up declarations and advise the SAMs.

PEEPs – The Responsibilities PEEP’s are no different to any other form of Risk Assessment who should complete them. Staff Line Managers Students A member of SAS staff in the Faculty Student Life Visitors (groups) The Conference Office Self explanatory. Again, unit in control of area is specifically designed to show that conference office, sport services, meeting house etc. have direct responsibilities to the people they “lease” or “hire” their facilities to.

PEEPs – When Do We Do This? Existing Staff and Students As soon as impaired ability to evacuate is “declared” or there are “reasonable grounds to suspect an impairment” then duties will exist under HSWA 1974 New staff, students, visitors and contractors New staff and students - preferably prior to taking up post or starting studies at the University or, alternatively, as soon as possible after arriving Self-explanatory

PEEPs – How Do We Do This? PEEPs Actively involve the impaired person Complete the dedicated questionnaire form (this will help to provide relevant information). Identify and physically explore the escape routes available and confirm that these are usable Identify any hazards that will prevent or restrict escape Identify possible strategies that do not require escape from the building The involvement of designated trained personnel Involve the person or the PEEP will not be truly “personal” Means of escape – Dead end travel? There are many “legal” requirements covering issues such as inner rooms, room occupancy, required amounts of fire detection, obstructions on the escape route, escape distances and numbers of escape routes available – training courses and associated guidance to be developed by SHE office to help assessors identify the types of issues they will need to consider. At this point a brief description of horizontal escape strategies can be discussed. It would be useful to reiterate that we cannot rely solely on the brigade to effect escape. Hazards – Some of these should be fairly obvious when actually undertaking the rehearsal. For example: Projections, poor floor coverings etc. that may affect visually impaired? Changes in levels, stairs, heavy doors etc. that may affect ambulatory impaired persons?

PEEPs – How Do We Do This? Consider all areas that you reasonably expect the assessed person to use Lecture/ Classrooms WC’s Meeting Rooms Offices Laboratories Halls of Residences Refectory's What times? 24 hours a day? Standard forms to be included in guidance. PEEP must consider all areas where we will be expecting people to live, work, eat, sleep, etc.

PEEPs – How Do We Do This? Where necessary identify control measures that may be required to facilitate access Relocate the activity (close to the ground floor) Structural changes or local repairs (ramps rails) Signs, adaptive technologies Provision of refuges Provision of suitable communication Training for the assessed person Training for dedicated assistants Control measures – Point out that reasonable adjustments could mean relocating activities to areas where people will have an assured means of escape etc. Discuss the resource issues e.g. structural changes may be costly and require planning consents / English Heritage approval. Repairs to flooring or the addition of signage are likely to be much simpler to overcome and should be actioned by the appropriate landlord in a timely manner. A standard form for requesting such works will be included in the guidance. When suggesting control measures assessors need to be realistic and not unnecessarily raise expectations. Training may also be required – the assessed person will most definitely need to be fully aware of the way in which we intend to manage their safety. Registered helpers or assigned “Buddies” will also need to be aware of the systems to be employed. Likewise, tutors may need to be made aware of particular arrangements put in place for students etc. On a more negative note: What if changes can’t be done quickly? We need to ensure that people realise that until changes are made then the impaired person should be excluded from that area.

PEEPs – What Next? Document the results of the findings Using the appropriate form. Distribute to all concerned (next slide) Hold a test situation with all concerned Make adjustments if required

PEEPs A copy of the PEEP must be given to; The person the PEEP is designed for The Safety Coordinator for the department Personal Tutor/s Other relevant persons named within the PEEP CaRes staff if required.

PEEPs – Continuous Improvement Monitor the assessment at regular intervals Make sure the PEEP remains relevant Get feedback following fire alarms and drills to gauge how successful our arrangements are Review the assessment at least annually. This may be more frequent if the impairment condition changes.

Guidance from HM Government Guidance from HM Government as described in constructing a evacuation from an educational premise. “ The plan should not rely on the fire and rescue services involvement for it to be effective”.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION www.mmu.ac.uk/humananresources/health Are there any further questions?