Casualties Union:
A Legacy of
Realistic Training for Emergency
Preparedness
Founded in 1942, Casualties Union is a UK-based charity dedicated to improving emergency preparedness. We do this by providing volunteers to play the roles of casualties, survivors, and bystanders in simulated emergency situations. The addition of live actors into these training scenarios adds a human factor, and means that emergency responders and medical professionals are better prepared to deal with casualties in real-life crises.
Our Volunteers
The core of our charity is the highly dedicated team of individuals who give up their time to help their local communities, organisations and emergency services. These volunteers undergo thorough training in various aspects of casualty simulation, including injury make-up (moulage), behaviour simulation, and the staging of a scenario.
As well as learning to act as casualties with physical injuries, volunteers also research how to portray people with medical conditions, and those who are in a state of emotional shock. They also learn to react appropriately and realistically to the emergency treatments they receive, both in terms of behaviour, and physical reaction to drugs.
The level of accuracy we provide enables first responders and emergency teams to practise their interpersonal, care and team working skills with live, reacting casualties in high pressure environments.
Who We Work With
Casualties Union works closely with a variety of organisations across England and Wales, all of which either provide emergency response, or provide training for such situations. Our volunteers also give their time to teach others about what the charity does, or to help them to practise key first aid skills on a smaller scale. As such we work with the NHS and healthcare providers, fire and rescue, police, military, local authorities, transport providers, private companies that teach first aid or first responder training, security companies, community groups and youth organisations.
The Impact of Casualties Union
Our work is invaluable in bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience. By providing a safe yet highly realistic environment for training, we help to ensure that emergency responders are not just familiar with protocol, but are also adept at applying it under the pressure of chaotic, unplanned and emotionally charged situations.
Over the years, we have built a strong reputation for delivering professional, realistic casualty simulations that improve preparedness and save lives. We continue to evolve and improve our skills to meet the ever-changing needs of the emergency world.