From bombs to botulism: Emergency physicians responses to major incidents

Dr Chris Cocking is a Principal Lecturer at the University of Brighton, with an interest in crowd behaviour during emergencies and post disaster psycho-social support. Chris has worked in the crowd management sector, consulting at large events in the South East of England. He also advises on emergency planning, and has been a visiting speaker at the Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College. Other consultations he has provided have been for the London Resilience Team, and the Greater London Assembly. He has been published in over 50 journals and user reports, including a case study by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, an impact study by the British Psychological Society. He is regularly asked to speak about his research to the media, and recently contributed to media debates about public behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also registered on the UK government’s COVID-19 Expert Database and has submitted evidence to UK Parliamentary Select Committee investigations into the pandemic.  

Lt Col Claire Park MBE RAMC is a Consultant in Prehospital Care with London HEMS and in Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Trauma at Kings College Hospital in London. She has over 20 years of military experience, including numerous operational deployments. International experience of civilian and military prehospital care, trauma systems and tactical emergency medical systems, has given her extensive experience to bring to her work in ‘tactical medicine’. This includes a focus on reducing  ‘The Therapeutic Vacuum’ that occurs for casualties in the hot and warm zones of high threat incidents. As the Medical Adviser to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Specialist Firearms Units, she also leads on developing interagency support, police officer first aid training and high fidelity simulation training during live police and multi-agency exercises.