August 31, 2011 5.07 pm This story is over 158 months old

Local emergency services to collaborate

Improved partnerships: A new organisation has been created if the county to help emergency services work together more thoroughly.

Local emergency services will be working more closely together with a new organisation, the Joint Emergency Management Service (JEMS).

JEMS, a national first, comprises of representatives from Lincolnshire County Council, Lincolnshire Police, NHS Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and the Environment Agency.

The service will be based at the County Council’s Emergency Centre at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Headquarters in Lincoln.

It is hoped JEMS will work on key priorities of emergency planning group Lincolnshire’s Resilience Forum (LRF), as well as the day to day work of each service.

David Powell, Head of Emergency Planning at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “As well as avoiding duplication of work, co-locating staff from a range of public sector organisations will help us to understand each other’s needs and plans more effectively.

“Although we’ve been working well as partner organisations together for some time, this will help us in our shared aims and re-enforce our joint approach in planning for emergencies. It is also a more efficient way of working for all involved.”

The LRF recently won two awards for its good partnership at the Emergency Planning Society Awards (2011).

Source: Lincolnshire County Council | Photo: Charlie Tilja