The Ethical and Legal Framework in the UK International Search and Rescue Team - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Law, Globalisation and Ethics Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Introduction The UK’s international Search and Rescue Team is a non-profit organization that responds to humanitarian accidents and emergency disasters in the world. The organization deals with the core issues of fire and rescue services. This organization was formed based on the fact that accidents and disasters keep occurring all over the world without any prior warning. Therefore there was a need to have a team of professionals that can organise rapidly and carry out proper search and rescue services in the affected areas. The UK international search and rescue team is one of teams that are members of the United Nation allowed to carry out search and rescue services. There are various organizations that contribute to the UK search and rescue team. These include the Ambulance service, Fire and Rescue service, the British Cave Rescue Council, Mountain Rescue England and Wales and the Police Service among others. The team also offers training services to its member countries to enable them stay prepared for disasters. However, the team operates within a certain ethical and legal framework that every organization that is willing to join must be ready to observe. This essay therefore looks at the ethical and legal framework under which the UK international search and rescue team operates. How to join the UK’s International Search and Rescue team For an individual team to join the UK’s search and rescue team, it must enter at the brigade level which works under the command of a senior officer. Brigade membership also has its various levels which are earned with time. These levels include the command level, the area level, the divisional level and a borough. The command level is for the big brigades for example the London fire brigade. These large brigades at the command level are then subdivided to form the area level brigades. This is because the command brigades are too large to function as a single unit. These area commands function in different geographical areas such as the eastern area, the western the northern and the southern. The divisional level represents a small geographical area where the service decisions can be made locally. It therefore operates at a local level and under local management. A borough is the smallest division that is headed by the local councils. During the emergency response, the brigades play the role of providing information regarding the type of incidence, where it has taken place, what has been affected, whether people, plants or animals, and the resources needed for the rescue operation. It also provides guiding information to other coming rescue teams on the nearest landing point to the scene of incident and any other relevant information. However, with the current plans that are underway, the teams can join as graduates and then earn promotion to various brigade levels (GB, Fire Service Inspectorate 2007). Legal framework under which UK fire and rescue teams operate The fire and rescue services in the United Kingdom operate at a local level but in accordance to the national statutory framework. This statutory outlines various responsibilities of the fire and rescue service team in the United Kingdom, England and Wales. These statutory responsibilities are outlined in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. However, before the second world the fire and rescue services in both England and Wales operated under the Fire brigades Act 1938. This act changed following granting of powers to the organization under new legislation after the Second World War. This Act was changed in 1947 after the Second World War and replaced with the Fire Service Act 1947. The purpose of the Fire Service Act 1947 was to make further stipulations for the fire and rescue services in Great Britain, which entailed transferring the duties of fire fighting form National Fire Services to the fire brigades which would be operated by the county councils. A body known as the Independent Review of the Fire Service was formed in the same year that changed the operations of the fire and rescue services. This led to formation of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 which is still in use in England and Wales (House of Commons, GB 2006). The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 states various responsibilities of the fire Authorities that overlooks fire and rescue services in various devolved administrations. Under the fire and rescue act 2004, the duties of the fire authorities include promoting safety from fire, extinguishing fires when they arise and acting to protect people’s lives and their property in the event of fire. The Act also states that fire authorities have the duty of rescuing people who are engaged in road accidents and those fallen by collapsing buildings. The Act also gives power to the Secretary of State in England to extend any other statutory responsibility to the Fire Authorities in cases of emergency situations. These are emergencies such as floods, environmental harm to the life of people, animals and plants. Basically, the aim of continuously changing the acts was to enable the search and rescue teams to deal with the challenges of the 21st century which included political challenges, ethical issues and the globalization. Political challenges were also experienced in the management of the fire and rescue services that kept changing following the desires of the government and the politicians. Other regulatory bodies that were formed concerning the fire and rescue services in UK include The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 that dealt with fire safety issues in the premises. This was enacted in 2006 and stated fire safety guidelines in non-domestic premises. The other one was the Government of Wales Act 2006 that gave powers to the National Assembly for Wales to enact laws concerning fire and rescue services, and also to promote fire safety by other means rather that by regulation. However, this does not bar other regulations passed by UK government concerning England and Wales. The government also has other responsibilities in fire and rescue services. The central government in UK through the national Fire Service has the responsibility of overseeing all the fire brigades in UK. In England, the fire and rescue services have been a responsibility of a department within the government which has been under the assistance of Her Majesty Fire Service Inspectorate. This government department was charged with the duties of promoting safety by encouraging best practices and value through inspectorate and development and improvement of the fire brigades. Others are the fire service ministers who are the senior most politicians who deal with fire and rescue service matters in England and Wales. This organization of the UK fire and rescue services was applied during the rescue services at the Haiti earthquake and the team did a commendable work. Action of the UK’s search and rescue team during the Haiti earthquake The powers given to the Fire and rescue services in UK by the Fire and Rescue Act 2004 greatly enable the team to undertake its rescue operations during the Haiti earthquake. This was done under the coordination if the United Nations organization. During the rescue mission, the UK fire and rescue servi9vce team found it necessary to purchase additional equipments and to recruit more staff to assist in the mission. During the Haiti rescue operations, some of the rescue workers form some search and rescue team became exhausted and left the scene ten days after the earthquake. At this time, more bodies were still being pulled from the wreckage of cities. The remaining search teams including the UK search and rescue teams had to deploy heavy equipments since there were more than 100,000 bodies to be recovered. The UK Command had to organize for deployment and logistics so that it could have a well equipped team (Books Llc 2010). How ethical considerations are dealt with in the fire and rescue services Before the individual teams are allowed to join the UK fire and rescue services, they have to undergo training on the legal and ethical framework under which the organization operates. Apart from the legal framework discussed above, there are ethical considerations that are of importance during their rescue services. Threes ethical considerations are aimed at instilling a sense of responsibility to all the teams during the rescue operations. They also enable the team to function to the best interest of the people they are assisting and not their personal interests. One of the ethical requirements for the members of the members of the search is the spirit of teamwork. The UK’s international search and rescue team is made up of different fire and rescue service teams from many countries in UK and other areas of the world. During the rescue services, it is very important for the entire team to work together. Team work prevents conflicts of interest which may lead to delayed rescue operations resulting to more deaths. Team work is also important since some of the teams may be well equipped than others. According to them, through working together the operations may become easier and faster. It was therefore necessary that they work as a group. Another ethical requirement is to have a positive attitude. Some of the situations that the teams are involved in are very difficult. For example during the Haiti rescue mission, the team faced various problems including lack of food, water and shelter. It is therefore important for the tea members to have appositive attitude that will enable them to survive in such situations. The other ethical requirement is for the team to respect the moral human rights. These are also stated in the UN charter where they believe that everyone has moral rights despite of the situations they are in. Even if people are being assisted, it is important to respect their moral rights which may not always be enforceable by the law. Another ethical requirement is proper use of power, respect and equal treatments of those being rescued, the members of the rescue team and avoiding any discriminatory actions. During the rescue operations, the teams should have one common interest which is also the interest of those being rescued. It is therefore important to respect the opinions of others in the team and to use all the resources for the best interest of the community under rescue. These ethical standards are set to guide the code of conduct for all the rescue service teams in UK and other areas of the world. They are also the guiding principles for those Brigades willing to join the UK international Search and Rescue Services. However, according to the situational ethics laws, some situations call for breaking the moral laws. The teams are therefore allowed to use their moral judgements depending on the situation, as long as it is not their personal interests. Role of globalization on the functioning of fire and rescue services Globalization is changing the world environment and the way things are being carried out including the activities of the fire and rescue services. Globalization has brought changes in issues of technology and communication. The UK fire and rescue services operate all over the world and this requires them to have an effective communication system. Most countries are turning to integrated fire and rescue systems to enable them have a wide coverage of their services. This has been experienced in Jamaican risk management system where they have integrated their risk management system to facilitate proper exchange of data and information to its entire team. The fire and rescue services in England have adopted the Intergraph Public Safety and security Solutions to streamline its communication system. This system can allow immediate response to several calls from different areas of the world. During the rescue operations, it helps the England fire and Rescue services to station various call centres all over the world and to have them networked for proper communication. This enables adequate response to many rescue service requirements in the global world. Intergraph also helps in unified management of all the information that is available at all the call centres (Intergraph Corp 2010). To meet the global demands for communication, the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Services requested the NOW Wireless to provide then with reliable fireground wireless communication in areas where they are conducting the rescue operations. They were offered the Mesh4G Communication system that enables reliable transfer of data to and from the scene of incidence without the interference of smoke, water and fire. The Mesh4G enables the fire fighting officers to monitor the even sat the rescue scene though voice communication, viewing images and obtaining data in a safer an effective manner for fire fighting (Nowwireless 2004). Role of the practitioner in a changing world environment With the many challenges of the global world environment, the role of the practitioner is changing to integrate proper response to the new demands of the global world. Most countries have established emergency medical response services that will help in offering medical services outside the hospital setting. There are so many political crises that are subjecting people to various health risk and these requires improved medical services. In England, most hospitals have established the emergency care practitioners who will be responding to emergency needs of patients outside the hospital settings. These practitioners are widely trained so that they can meet the varied needs of patients in emergency situations. The Ambulance department in the UK fire and rescue service is also advancing its nursing services to meet the needs of the global environment. The changing global environment is also calling for adequate flexibility in health care services. The practitioners among the UK fire and rescue services are increasing on their flexibility to meet these demands (Jones, Endacott, & Crouch 2003). Generally, the role of the practitioner involves offering medical response to those whose health and wellbeing is affected during the emergency accidents. Those who suffer injuries in cases of road accidents, earthquakes and fire accidents are all under the care of practitioners. These incidences are increasing as the world becomes global. The United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination is a body made up of professionals who give various services during the emergency crisis. The team also has medical practitioners who give assistance to those requiring drugs and other medical attention with finds form governments of the member countries. Conclusion and Recommendations to the council To join the UK’s international search and rescue team, one must be well prepared to operate within the given legal framework, following the set ethical standards and also be able to adapt to the changing needs of the global world. I would therefore recommend the council that it is very necessary to join the international search and rescue team since it gives the team a chance to serve those in emergency situations all over the world. It also exposes the team to the changing global environment where new concepts for coping with emergency situations are learnt. Various teams are allowed to join the UK search and rescue team as long as they are ready to operate within the given legal and ethical framework. Bibliography GB, Fire Service Inspectorate, 2007, Fire and Rescue Service manual: Vol. 2: Fire service operations, Incidents involving rescue from road vehicles, Volume 2, The Stationery Office, London. Jones, G., Endacott, R., & Crouch, R., 2003, Emergency nursing care: principles and practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. House of Commons GB, 2006, The Fire and Rescue Service: Session 2005-06, The Stationery Office, London. The Stationery Office, 2004, Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Elizabeth Ii, Part 21. The Stationery Office: London. Books Llc, 2010, Haiti Earthquake: Humanitarian Response by National Governments to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. General Books LLC, New York. Intergraph Corp, 2010, England’s Nationwide Fire and Rescue Emergency Response System to Use Intergraph Public Safety and Security Solutions, retrieved on 25th September, 2010, from . Nowwireless, 2004, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, retrieved on 3rd December, 2010 from http://nowwireless.com/metro/cs_hampshire.html Read More