Review procedures for patient dispatch to hospitals
Manchester Arena Inquiry · Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · Issued 3 November 2022 · Addressed to: North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Government responseUK Government: Accepted (Nov 2025)
DeliveryCabinet Office says in progress (Feb 2026)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
North West Ambulance Service should review its procedures with local NHS trusts to ensure that it has effective policies in place for quickly dispatching patients injured in a Major Incident to an appropriate hospital.
Manchester Arena Inquiry, Manchester Arena Inquiry: Volume 2: Emergency Response · 3 Nov 2022 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
The Inquiry asked North West Ambulance Service to review its major incident hospital dispatch procedures. In an update published in February 2026, the Cabinet Office relayed that the trust, in partnership with National Health Service (NHS) England North West, reviewed and updated the Mass Casualty Distribution Plan to produce version 1.4, which went live in July 2023 and is owned by the regional body, though reviewing procedures with local hospital trusts was not mentioned (Cabinet Office, Feb 2026). Earlier, the United Kingdom Government accepted the recommendation in full in November 2025 (Cabinet Office response, Nov 2025).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026.
Government response
●UK Government · Accepted · 14 Nov 2025
Accepted in full
Response document: Manchester Arena Inquiry recommendations (GOV.UK page linking to the Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard)
Delivery
●Cabinet Office says in progress · 27 Feb 2026
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) in partnership with NHS England North West have reviewed the Mass Casualty Distribution Plan and updated as required to produce version 1.4.This went live 14 July 2023. NHS England North West are the owners of the North West Mass Casualty Distribution Plan.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Cabinet Office · 14 Nov 2025
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) in partnership with NHS England North West have reviewed the Mass Casualty Distribution Plan and updated as required to produce version 1.4.This went live 14 July 2023. NHS England North West are the owners of the North West Mass Casualty Distribution Plan.
From: Manchester Arena Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, original version (data file)
Published evidence
●JESIP · 1 Apr 2024
JESIP Joint Doctrine updated to v3.1 (April 2024) following inquiry findings on interoperability failures. Operation Plato reformed to cover all terrorist attack types, not just firearms. Emphasis extended beyond command-level to frontline responders.
JESIP Joint Doctrine Version 3.1, April 2024View source →
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.