Major incident day

Every year, students at Wrexham University step into fast-paced, real-world emergency scenarios during our Major Incident Day.

This immersive exercise brings together students on our Policing, Forensic Science and Nursing and Allied Health degrees, putting their knowledge to the test in a practical, high-pressure, multi-agency response.

What Happens On The Day?

With no prior warning of what incidences they’ll face, students are thrown into unfolding emergency situations, requiring quick thinking and teamwork. Previous scenarios have included:

An explosion requiring immediate police and paramedic response, as well as forensic investigation
An abandoned vehicle scene with walking wounded needing urgent care from our Nursing and ODP students
A police search of Tŷ Dysgu, our on-campus simulation house
A hostage situation involving negotiations and an arrest.

Facilities In Use On The Day

During Major Incident Day, students gain hands-on experience in real-world environments, preparing them for careers in emergency response, law enforcement, and healthcare. Some facilities that are used include:

Healthcare Simulation Centre: Equipped with a purpose-built inspection room and advanced audio and visual technology, our Healthcare Simulation Centre is the ideal place for our Nursing and Allied Health students to treat injured victims involved in the simulation
Ambulance: Our on-campus ambulance is used by our Paramedic students to transport injured patients to the Healthcare Simulation Centre
Tŷ Dysgu: Tŷ Dysgu is our residential home right on campus. During Major Incident Day, there’s often staged simulations in the house which require police and medical attention
Custody Suite: Our Policing students will take the suspect to our on-campus Custody Suite, where their arrest will be processed.

See The ActionFor Yourself

Curious to see how our students tackled Major Incident Day? Watch them put their knowledge and skills to the test.

Gallery of the day

Student acting injured as part of our major incident day

Injured person as part of the major incident day

Emergency services on campus attending to students simulating an emergency

Emergency services looking after injured person

“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.”

Freya Paramedic Science student

“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.”

Kaylee Policing student

“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.”

Jenny Forensic Science student

“This experience has allowed me to see in a gentler way how a major incident is dealt with and how traumatic it can be. I believe this will help me in future.”

Jamie Adult Nursing