Disaster exercise toolkit for general practices launched to support testing your emergency response plans
Queensland is Australia’s most disaster impacted state, and the impacts are becoming more extreme and complex. Disasters and emergency events can impact your general practice or primary health care business operations and ability to provide essential healthcare services to patients and the wider community.
Severe weather prompts healthcare providers to be disaster ready
Recent heavy rain and flash flooding across South East Queensland is a reminder for healthcare business owners and operators to check plans for how they will protect staff, patients and essential services when severe weather disrupts operations.
For general practices, community pharmacies and allied health clinics, the impact can extend beyond damage to premises. Disrupted access, staff absences, power outages and delayed deliveries can affect the ability to provide care.
Disaster scenario exercises designed to support practice teams’ response in times of natural disaster
Brisbane South PHN has developed a Disaster exercise toolkit for general practices to support practice teams to test and improve their emergency response plans (ERP’s), build staff capability and confidence in the event of an emergency and maintain safe and continuous patient care during and after emergency events.
The toolkit aligns with the recently updated RACGP Standards for general practices (6th edition) and will support general practices in meeting the new Response Planning criterion F2 A. for having a ‘tested response plan for disruption to the continuity of its services’.
Help to practise your disaster plan before you need it
The toolkit is a free, non-clinical resource that guides the user to coordinate a discussion-based exercise. Exercises can be run by a practice manager, clinical lead or other nominated facilitator. It is designed to help practice teams rehearse their response to emergencies, clarify staff responsibilities and identify improvements to their plans.
Brisbane South PHN Emergency and disaster lead, Kay Drabsch, says ' Practicing emergency response plans before you need them identifies any improvements or actions required. Those actions may include re-allocating responsibilities where there have been workforce changes, reprinting back-up emergency documents that have been exposed to humidity, or updating contact lists on whats app'
Practices that have planned ahead and practised their disaster plans are better placed to keep their doors open, reach vulnerable patients and recover quickly.
About the toolkit
The toolkit comes as a downloadable PDF resource and offers 4 mock scenarios to help general practice teams prepare their practices for unexpected events: severe rainfall and flooding, bushfire, extreme heat and infectious disease outbreak.
Kay Drabsch explains the value of rehearsing these scenarios: ‘Testing any one of these scenarios improves staff confidence, highlights opportunities for alternative service delivery and identifies patient and workforce impacts and possible solutions.’
For more disaster preparedness and planning information and support for your health practice, contact Brisbane South PHN by emailing [email protected]
Brisbane South PHN supports primary care before, during and after disasters
While local and state governments are responsible for managing disaster and emergency responses in our communities, Brisbane South PHN helps to support local primary health care providers, including general practices, allied health practices and our commissioned health services to prepare, respond and recover from disasters and emergencies. The toolkit is just one of many supports we offer.
We work with our regional hospital and health services partner, Metro South Health, local councils, and other disaster recovery and resilience groups to support disaster management efforts in the Brisbane South PHN region.
Additional resources to assist you to: