Psychosocial care for people affected by disasters and major incidents.

Protecting civilian populations and using civil resources in support of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation?s (NATO) objectives is the key function of the Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee (SCEPC). The SCEPC coordinates planning in several areas, to ensure, when necessary, civil support for the Alliance?s military operations or military support for national authorities in civil emergencies. The Joint Medical Committee (JMC) supports this work. NATO Members and their Partner Nations are committed to providing working environments and management practices that promote the best health of all who work with NATO. Part of that commitment is recognising that it is unacceptable that people working with NATO, in whatever capacity, are injured by their work and reasonable arrangements ought to be in place to prevent harm. Ensuring the psychosocial welfare of all people involved with the work of NATO is a key part of that commitment. Risks to psychosocial wellbeing can be minimised by planning and implementing good management procedures. As Chair of the JMC, I am therefore delighted to be able to introduce this non-binding guidance on Psychosocial Care for People Affected by Disasters and Major Incidents: a Model for Designing, Delivering and Managing Psychosocial Services for People Involved in Major Incidents, Conflict, Disasters and Terrorism. It represents a significant piece of work undertaken by representatives from the Joint Medical Committee. It is intended as a conceptual and practical resource for people who develop governmental policy, design and plan services, or provide preparatory training for the staff of the services that are required.