'Don't worry': Why medics in Hazmat suits and a 'chemical incident' sign were outside Salford Royal today

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Medics were seen in Hazmat suits while a 'chemical incident' sign was outside Salford Royal Hospital this morning. The scenes were part of a training exercise taking place outside the major hospitals emergency department this morning (June 21).

The hospital was carrying out hazardous materials and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives recognition and decontamination protocols.

Staff donned yellow gas suits and a red tent was put up outside the emergency department in a cordoned off area for the exercises. READ MORE: Manchester Royal Infirmary's A&E changes - how the new temporary emergency department will affect you Hospital bosses assured the public there was no reason to worry, and encouraged patients and staff to attend A&E as normal.

All the people involved in the training were volunteers, working in their own time, with the training 'planned so it did not affect service delivery of the emergency department in any way', according to NHS chiefs.