Police funding The inquiry found that austerity cuts had “a significant impact on Greater Manchester Police’s ability to provide an adequate public service in some respects”. The Home Office should consider different arrangements for funding police services if a similar program of budget cuts and austerity is introduced in the future. Trauma training Police should have trauma training so they can provide life-saving treatment and not be in the position unarmed officers were in when they arrived at the Manchester Arena. These officers wanted to help the wounded but lacked the necessary training. The same was true for the security guards. Communication between emergency services During the Manchester Arena attack, almost no one was able to get through to the police officer’s mobile phone. The Home Office, the College of Policing, the College of the Fire Service and the National Ambulance Resilience Unit should jointly consider whether an app providing instant access to contact details for all on-duty and on-call commanders is feasible and, if so, they are likely to benefit from responding to a major incident. Large spaces The investigation found that the provision of internal healthcare at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017 was inadequate. Facilities of similar size must have a reasonable number of adequately trained and equipped medical staff to provide emergency care to bridge the gap before ambulances and fire and rescue services arrive. Ambulances Ambulance service trusts should review their ability to respond to a mass casualty incident. This should include an assessment of whether they have sufficient trained specialist staff to respond effectively to a mass casualty incident, including enough people to drive ambulances to hospital. Consideration should be given to training other emergency service personnel in ambulance driving. On the night of the Arena attack only seven of the 319 North West Ambulance Service vehicles available that night were able to deploy immediately. First aid The Home Office and the Constabulary should ensure that all new and existing police officers and all front-line police staff, such as Police Community Support Officers, are trained in first response intervention. The Home Office should consider introducing a public education program to educate the public on first responder interventions. Stretchers Government agencies should conduct a review to ensure that properly designed and sufficient number of people carriers are always available for use by emergency services and in appropriate locations in the event of a mass casualty incident. Public Access Injury Kits The Department of Health and Social Care should take steps to ensure that trauma kits with public access are easy to find in public places and contain the necessary equipment to enable first aid interventions. The kits, which have basic instructions, are designed to be ready for use, even by untrained members of the public.
