How to create an emergency plan for a group trip

What does an incident management plan for a group trip contain?

An incident management plan is a short, practical document that tells everyone what to do when something goes wrong away from base. It sits alongside the risk assessment: the risk assessment reduces the chance of an incident, the plan manages one when it happens. For schools in England, the Department for Education's health and safety on educational visits guidance says schools should have an emergency response plan covering incidents away from school.

• Scope and triggers: what counts as an incident and when the plan is activated.
• Roles and contacts: names, mobile numbers and backups for each role, with times when each person is on call.
• Communication cascade: who calls whom, in what order, and what is said.
• Participant records: passport details, medical information, dietary needs, consents and next of kin, held securely and available to the leader offline.
• Insurance details: policy number and the 24-hour assistance company number.
• Local information: emergency numbers for each country, nearest hospitals, accommodation and transport contacts, and the nearest British embassy or consulate.
• First actions for each likely scenario, set out as short checklists.
• Access to money: who can authorise spending and how leaders pay for urgent costs.
• Media and parent communications: the named spokesperson and holding statements.
• Records: an incident log template and how the plan is stood down and reviewed.

Keep it short enough to use under pressure. A two-page quick reference card for leaders, backed by a fuller plan held by the home contact, works better than a long document no one reads.

Who does what when something goes wrong?

Every role needs a named backup. The home contact role in particular must be covered for every hour the group is away, including nights and weekends, so agree a rota if one person cannot do it alone.

How should information flow during an incident?

Information should move up one chain: the trip leader tells the home contact, the home contact tells the senior manager, and the senior manager decides who else is told. This avoids families hearing conflicting versions, and it keeps the leader free to look after the group.

1. Trip leader to home contact, as soon as the immediate situation is safe.
2. Home contact to senior manager, with a written summary.
3. Senior manager decides on contact with the families of those directly affected, before anyone else.
4. Senior manager or home contact contacts the insurer, the travel company and, if needed, the FCDO.
5. Holding message to all other families, then agreed updates at stated times.

Media: one named spokesperson, usually the senior manager or a communications lead. Leaders and participants refer every enquiry to them. Never release names of anyone affected, and ask participants not to post about the incident while families are being contacted. Participants will have phones, so tell families quickly; they may hear something informally within minutes.

FCDO: British nationals can contact the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 24 hours a day on +44 (0)20 7008 5000, choosing consular services for British nationals, or call the nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate. According to gov.uk, the FCDO can provide lists of local lawyers and medical contacts, issue emergency travel documents and help in cases of arrest or death, but cannot pay medical bills, give money, investigate crimes or search for missing people. Participants of other nationalities should contact their own embassy.

What should the trip leader do in the first hour?

1. Make the situation safe and stop further harm. Do not put other people at risk.
2. Give first aid and call local emergency services. Across EU member states the number is 112.
3. Account for every participant with a headcount, and put another leader in charge of the rest of the group.
4. Send a leader with any participant taken to hospital, with their passport copy, medical form and insurance details.
5. Call the insurer's 24-hour assistance line for any medical incident.
6. Call the home contact with the first report, and agree the next call time.
7. Start the incident log: times, decisions, names, numbers and costs. Keep receipts.
8. Ask participants not to post online or share the names of anyone affected until those families have been told.
9. Reassess the programme for the next 24 hours. It is fine to pause activities.

How do you handle a medical emergency abroad?

Call local emergency services first, then the insurer's assistance company. The assistance company can arrange care, guarantee payment to hospitals where the policy covers it, and organise repatriation. Without that call, a hospital may ask for payment up front.

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is free and lasts for up to 5 years. The NHS says it lets UK residents get necessary state healthcare in the European Economic Area and some other countries, including Montenegro and Australia, and in Switzerland for certain nationalities. Treatment is provided on the same basis as for local residents, which can mean a charge or co-payment.

• Carry each participant's medical form and consent for treatment, plus any essential medication with spares.
• Keep a leader with the patient and agree how they rejoin the group, or how a parent travels out.
• Collect all medical reports and receipts for the claim.

What happens if a passport is lost or stolen abroad?

1. Report a theft to the local police and keep the report reference; your insurer may ask for it.
2. For a British national who needs to travel urgently, apply for an emergency travel document on gov.uk. The application costs £125 and is not refundable. The passport is cancelled as part of the application.
3. Documents are usually ready to collect 2 working days after applying, but can take longer, including for children under 16.
4. For a child under 16, both parents or legal guardians must attend an appointment, or send a signed consent letter if they cannot attend.
5. Check the document will be accepted by every country you leave, enter or pass through, and do not rebook travel until you have confirmation of how and when to collect it.
6. Participants of other nationalities must contact their own embassy or consulate.

Prepare before departure: carry copies of every passport and visa page, keep a scan in a secure shared folder, and note that the online application needs a digital photo that meets passport rules. For the full list of travel documents to check, use the free travel document checklist.

What is the procedure for a missing participant?

1. Confirm they are missing: headcount, check with their buddy or room-mates, call and message their phone, check the last known location.
2. Keep the rest of the group together and supervised by another leader at a fixed point.
3. Search agreed nearby areas for a short, agreed time, with leaders in pairs and phones on.
4. Inform the local venue, transport or accommodation staff and the home contact.
5. Report to the local police without delay if the participant is under 18 or vulnerable. For adults, report when your plan's threshold is reached or sooner if there is any concern. Provide a recent photo and description.
6. The senior manager decides when and how to tell the participant's family.
7. Log every action and time. Remember that the FCDO does not search for missing people, so the police are the lead agency.

Prevention matters as much as procedure. Use buddy systems, agree meeting points and times for every free-time period, and make sure every participant carries the leader's number and the accommodation address.

Which scenarios should the plan cover, and what are the first actions?

Check FCDO travel advice for each destination before departure and during the trip, and sign up for email alerts. The free emergency contacts directory lists local emergency numbers to add to your plan.

What should happen after an incident?

• Hold a debrief with leaders and the home contact within days of return, while details are fresh.
• Secure the incident log, messages, reports and receipts in one place.
• Complete internal incident reporting and any insurer notifications by their deadlines.
• Offer support to participants and staff affected, including referral to welfare services.
• Update the risk assessment and the plan with what you learned, and share relevant changes with other trip leaders.

Review the plan even when nothing goes wrong. A short check after every trip on contact numbers, the cascade and leader feedback keeps it current.

How Roamly can help

Roamly helps organisers write incident management plans, communication cascades and risk assessments through its consulting service. Free tools include the emergency contacts directory and the travel risk assessment builder. To discuss a specific trip, contact us.