Health and safety for disabled students

When you're on campus, you may need additional help. Below, we've outlined how we can help you during emergency evacuations, other emergency situations, and risk assessments.

Emergency Evacuation

Everyone at the university has a responsibility to know what to do in an emergency, help keep themselves and others safe, and understand how to get support if needed.

General Emergency Evacuation Plan

We have a General Emergency Evacuation Plan (GEEP) in place to ensure your safety when evacuating buildings in an emergency when lifts may not be operational. Most students should follow the general evacuation process.  This means: 

  • Leaving the building using the nearest safe exit.
  • If you are overwhelmed or having difficulty leaving alongside others, go to a Refuge Point and wait for the main flow of people to pass before exiting. Refuge Points are marked out by green signage with a disability symbol, see the images below.

If needed, once at a Refuge Point, you can either: 

  • Press the “Push for Help” button to speak to a member of staff and let them know your location and that you need support to evacuate.
  • Use the Safe Zone app to call security for support to evacuate.

A green sign displaying text and a disability icon. Text reads: Refuge point keep clear
Green speaker with a disability icon and help button
General Emergency Evacuation Plan (GEEP) FAQs
Can someone show me the refuge points?

Yes, this can be arranged. Please contact the Disability Inclusion Service via askUS askUS@salford.ac.uk to request this. 

What if it’s a fire drill?

During a fire drill, you may not need to evacuate if this is going to cause you undue pain or difficulty. Please make your way to a Refuge Point, call for support using the Disabled Refuge Call Point or via SafeZone, and ask the operator whether this is a drill and if evacuation is necessary.

What if I need extra help with evacuating?

You may need additional help to evacuate. For example, if you:  

  • Are d/Deaf or hard of hearing and cannot hear fire alarms  
  • There are times when you may not be able to use stairs 
  • You use a wheelchair or mobility aid 
  • You may need equipment (e.g., an evacuation chair) 
  • You may need additional guidance or reassurance 

If the above applies to you, you will need a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). Please fill out this form to get your PEEP in place.

 

SafeZone

We use SafeZone to help look after our university community. If you ever need assistance on campus, you can alert security by simply pressing the emergency button on the app. 

All students are encouraged to download the SafeZone app to receive updates about any urgent situations on campus, and so our Security team can help you as soon as possible if you need urgent assistance. 

You can set up your profile on SafeZone to give First Aiders important information about yourself. For example, if you experience panic attacks, you might want to put information on your profile about how best to assist you when you are experiencing one. 

If you have a disability that may require First Aid support, please use the template below to set up your SafeZone profile.   

  • Name of condition(s) and/or allergies: Please list any health conditions you have e.g., Epilepsy; Anxiety; Peanut Allergy 
  • Medication/s: Please list any medications you take e.g., Anti-Epileptic Drugs; Propranolol; EpiPen 
  • Symptoms of condition/s: Please list any symptoms of this condition that might require first aid support e.g., Tonic-Clonic seizures; Panic attacks; Anaphylaxis 
  • How best to help me: Please describe how first aiders should help you e.g., Time the seizure, if the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes, call an ambulance

Risk assessments

If you need further support managing disability-related risk while on campus, you may need to conduct a Risk Assessment with your school. Please contact the team for advice if you feel this might be the case.