£3m Airwave deal for new health response teams

Digital radios will improve communication in crisis zones

Currently victims must be rescued before treatment

The Department of Health is equipping new Hazardous Area Response Teams (Hart) with digital Airwave radios in a £3m, 10-year deal announced today.

The response teams will work on the "inner cordon" of major hazardous incidents such as fires or building collapses.

Each ambulance trust will have a response team in place by 2011. Until then ambulance services will continue to rely on fire rescue workers to bring injured people out of a disaster area before they can be treated.

Airwave already provides a hand-portable and in-vehicle radio service to response teams established in West Midlands, East Midlands, North West and Yorkshire ambulance trusts.

James Price, Hart manager at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "We wanted Airwave because it’s important we have crystal clear, effective and reliable communications."

Police, ambulance and fire workers in the UK are already equipped with the radios.