British Red Cross continues emergency support and announces £50,000 donation to London Bombings Reli

For immediate release: 8 July 2005
For further information: Contact: Amelia Lyons - 0207 877 7044 or Will Slater - 0207 877 7042

British Red Cross continues emergency support and announces £50,000 donation to London Bombings Relief Fund

Following the terrible bomb blasts in London yesterday, 7 July, the British Red Cross has been continuing to support the emergency services and has also today announced a donation of £50,000 to the London Bombings Relief Fund.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, today launched the Fund in association with the British Red Cross.  Donations to the fund will be held in trust to assist by any means the victims of the attack, their families and dependants; and to assist with any other appropriate project that the funds allow.

Within minutes of yesterday’s explosions 16 Red Cross ambulances attended the sites of explosions throughout the city. Based at King's Cross, Edgware Road, Russell Square and Liverpool Street station, trained volunteers provided comfort and medical care to injured and distressed commuters.

When there was no longer a need to maintain a presence at the incident sites, the 10 ambulances supported the London Ambulance Service as they carried out their normal duties responding to emergency calls. In total 25 Red Cross ambulances were involved in front line work in this way.

Red Cross volunteers were also present at 46 stations around London and the Southeast providing medical care and comfort to commuters as they made their way home. Neil Walker was a Red Cross volunteer at Guildford Station. He said: "There were people who needed their temporary dressings changed, others just needed to be able to sit down and talk to someone."

John Switters, British Red Cross Emergency Planning Officer, who was leading a team of Red Cross volunteers at King’s Cross station, said: “Our Staff and volunteers at Kings Cross probably saw hundreds of people over the course of 3-4 hours when the station was re-opened.  For many who were distressed or shocked, it was a case of offering medical and emotional support or simply lending the ‘Red Cross ear’, which was vitally important in helping them recover from such a traumatic incident.”

The Red Cross is also producing a schools education kit so teachers can help students think through some of the practical and emotional issues raised by the attacks. It is designed to help young people understand the role of the emergency services and the practical steps they can take in response to a major incident.  The kit will be going out to schools early next week.

The Red Cross has a pre-planned role to assist the emergency services in the event of a major incident. In London it has 115 staff and approximately 2,000 trained volunteers of whom about 800 can be called on to respond within hours or days, depending on the nature of the emergency.

In recent years the Red Cross has responded to the Paddington, Berkshire and Potters Bar rail crashes, providing first aid and ambulance services; setting up rest centres for survivors, evacuees and relatives; providing emergency clothing and transport; and offering emotional support to survivors and the bereaved.

ENDS

Notes to Editors
· The British Red Cross has offered the London Bombings Relief Fund the facilities to collect and administer donations on behalf of the fund. The funds raised will be distributed by the trustees of the Trust who are appointed by the GLA.

· The British Red Cross works in the UK and overseas as part of the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, protecting and assisting victims of conflict and natural disasters, with neutrality and impartiality.

· In the UK, British Red Cross services range from supporting vulnerable young people to providing first aid training to isolated communities and providing practical help in emergencies via the Emergency Response Service.