After the 2020 event had to be online due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 NAHS conference is again in Birmingham, on Thursday, November 18.
The covid pandemic has, it goes without saying, has dominated the NHS and UK healthcare generally since spring 2020. For example, the remarkable work done at short notice for the securing of the UK’s vaccination centres on hospital and other premises from December onwards featured in an Association of Security Consultants webinar, as featured in the August print edition of Professional Security magazine. Yet the line-up of speakers shows that covid (and indeed vocal protests by covid deniers) is far from the only threat to healthcare.
For example, Nick Aldworth is the recently retired senior counter-terror policeman – who as a detective chief superintendent led the protective security responses to the 2017 terror attacks in the UK. Now a consultant, he has made the case for the Protect duty – also known as Martyn’s Law – that is likely to arise from the Home Office after the Manchester Arena Inquiry as a legal responsibility on all venues and public places and spaces to guard against terrorism.
While some hospitals may have in-house guard forces that are not required by law to have licences from by the Security Industry Authority, some hospital trusts choose to pay to have their in-house healthcare security badged by the SIA anyway. The SIA’s acting chief exec Michelle Russell, pictured, is among the invited speakers.
And to give a North American perspective on covid and policing and protecting hospitals more generally; Bonnie Michelman, who besides her day job as executive director of police, security and outside services at Massachusetts General Hospital, is a past president of the US-based, global security management association ASIS International.
For tickets, visit Eventbrite.
For more about the National Association for Healthcare Security (NAHS) visit https://nahs.org.uk/.
