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 'My Life Is A Disaster' says GEM Chief
It is rare for the director of a new company to admit that their life is a 'disaster', but in Sheena McCabe's case, that is exactly what she has done: "In fact, my life can be one big disaster after another", she says. However, there is a good explanation for this, because Sheena is not only a long standing volunteer with the only UN recognised disaster search and rescue team - International Rescue Corps, but she has also been a course director with the UK Government's Cabinet Office at their Emergency Planning College, where she also represented the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, prior to establishing Global Emergency Management in the autumn of 2005. "The world is a dangerous place. Risk lurks around every corner, but we do not allow it to paralyse society. We minimise risk where we can and plan for what we cannot control in the event that disaster strikes," explains Sheena. "In recent years the public has become increasingly aware of the changing nature of the world we live in and is demanding that our governments, public organisations and private companies do more to be prepared." The perceived threats are many and varied and the more visible ones currently include such things as terrorist attack, technological failure, climate change, natural disaster and biological pandemic. However, the threat does not have to be exotic to have a significant impact: just look at the effects of recent flooding in the UK, from Carlisle to Bostcastle. Sheena was originally with Merseyside Police where she was responsible for emergency and contingency planning; her work included the fuel dispute, the Foot & Mouth outbreak, the Fire strike and a major chemical incident. Further a field, as a member of International Rescue Corps, she provided logistical support during the rescue of casualties following the Indian earthquake in 2001, ensuring the correct equipment and personnel were present at the site to complete the rescues. "I have the practical experience that a lot of consultants don't have," highlights Sheena. "This is invaluable when offering advice, in the preparation of plans, designing training and running exercises." As a member of a Cabinet Office team, she designed and delivered a Civil Protection Course for the Singaporean Government Ministry of Home Affairs Department and recently planned and successfully ran a conference on Risk and Resilience in conjunction with the Civil Service College. She is an MSc in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management. Sheena believes it is incumbent upon us all to play our part, large or small, in not only minimising risk by making adequate contingency plans, but also in responding appropriately in an emergency: "The Civil Contingencies Act is a significant piece of new legislation and it is vital that all organisations understand their responsibilities, whether or not they are in the front line," she warns. "In addition, companies need to plan for business continuity and the growing expectations of their local communities, customers and staff for the corporate and social responsibilities they hold in the event of a disaster." The new act will make public local levels of risk that could well affect business insurance premiums if adequate steps are not taken to ensure the company can continue to function in the event of an identified threat materialising. Reputation may be as much at risk if organisations fail to provide a service in a disaster, which applies equally to the emergency services as it can to commercial enterprises. Small businesses can suffer enormously and many can actually go out of business. "It's not just the big companies that are affected, the little ones need something in place - a plan for what to do if there's an incident. So I want to help the smaller businesses as well. The Civil Contingencies Act will raise awareness of risk with the public on a much larger scale than has happened before, so the emergency services are going to have to be prepared to receive a lot of questions from their local communities." Global Emergency Management (GEM) has been established to respond to the growing demand for consultancy, advice and training by a vast range of agencies and organisations that are affected by the new Act. "I would urge everyone to make themselves aware of their responsibilities in the event of an emergency and to consider GEM as an important partner in preparing them for the worst so that they can do their best," adds Sheena. |
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