University students respond to ‘Major Incident’ as part of annual immersive exercise

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025

A ‘major incident’ exercise tested the skills, knowledge and real-time reactions of Healthcare, Policing and Forensic students at Wrexham University.

Students and lecturers from Policing, Paramedic Science, Forensic Science, Nursing and Operating Department Practice (ODP) degree programmes took part in the annual ‘Major Incident Day’ exercise.

The day saw a series of escalating events unfold to the students in real-time, with no prior warning. They had to respond quickly and professionally to the evolving situations, putting their classroom knowledge into practice.

The immersive exercise allowed students from the different disciplines to work together and apply their knowledge to ‘real-life’ scenarios.

Scenarios on the day, included:

• An explosion.
• An abandoned vehicle scene, which saw walking injured enter the Students’ Union building requiring police and paramedic attention. 
• A police search of Ty Dysgu – the University’s on-campus simulation house.
• A hostage situation involving hostage negotiators working for a safe release – with a suspect arrested, and subsequently taken to the University’s on-site custody suite.

A lecture room within the University’s B-corridor was transformed into the incident control room, where students coordinated the emergency response, while the incidents unfolded at various locations across campus.

Andy Crawford, Senior Lecturer in Policing, said: “Our seventh annual Major Incident Day was a brilliant success – it’s an incredibly exciting day for our students to be part of.

“Not only does it strengthen our students’ skills as individuals but it also promotes teamwork and quality communication among the various professions – preparing them for multidisciplinary working for when they embark on their careers, after graduating.

“It also gives us a great opportunity to utilise our excellent, industry-standard facilities and spaces such as our Health Simulation Centre, Ty Dysgu and our recently installed police custody training suite.

“I’d like to thank colleagues from across the University for supporting this annual event, as well as our students for immersing themselves fully into the exercises. 

“The day also wouldn’t have been possible without the support of a number of external colleagues, including officers and staff from North Wales Police who assisted Policing students, as well as Emma Roberts, Crime Scene Manager from North Wales Police, who gave her time and expertise to support the Forensic Science students process the main crime scene.

“Thanks must also go to members of the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust who assisted the Paramedic students and the NHS workers who came in to help with the various health programme students studying at the University, as well as moulage company, Bloody Realistic, who worked on the special effects make up as part of bringing the day to life, and local actor Michael Corteen, who played the role of the offender. 

“We were also pleased to welcome Uniformed Public Services students from Coleg Cambria, who joined us for the day to observe – and help inform their curriculum in response to dealing with emergency incidents.”

Freya Pierce, second-year Paramedic Science student, said: “It’s been brilliant to be part of this year’s Major Incident Day. It’s provided us with a fantastic insight into responding to a major incident that involves trauma – and seeing how each professional discipline works as part of that response.

“Exercises like this also provide a safe space for us to learn but also make mistakes without negative consequences. It’s been fantastic to have Paramedics from the Welsh Ambulance Service with us as part of the day, their guidance has been so valuable.”

First-year Policing student, Kaylee Williams, said: “Days like this are vital in helping to cement what we learn in our lectures as we can actually put that knowledge into practice, in these true-to-life scenarios.”

Final-year Forensic Science student, Jenny Jones, added: “Our role in Forensic Science as part of the exercise was Crime Scene Investigators where we were required to gather intelligence and evidence from the incidents.

“As someone who learns best through hands-on experiences, the day was fantastic for me – it was extremely memorable and great to see the role that each profession has to play.”

Lecturers involving in the planning and running of Major Incident Day will be among those taking part in the University’s next undergraduate open day event, which is being held on Saturday, March 15 from 10am – 2pm.

For more information or to book your place at the open day, visit: https://wrexham.ac.uk/visit/undergraduate-events/