NZ - Business continuity planning essential in pandemic

[Sally Furniss]

Business continuity planning essential in pandemic
Thursday, 25 June 2009, 5:16 pm
Press Release: Bay of Plenty District Health Board

MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 25 June 2009

Business continuity planning essential in pandemic

Businesses must start planning to cope with staff shortages, which health authorities say are inevitable as the Swine Flu (Novel H1N1 Influenza A) spreads rapidly.

Swine flu emergency operations centre incident controller Cathy Taylor says keeping businesses open will be a challenge as the numbers of people who get sick with influenza increases.

?This will be a serious issue in service businesses which the public are dependent on, such as pharmacies, rest homes and food businesses, but all businesses will be affected to some degree. Some staff will be absent because they are sick, or are needed to care for family members who are sick,? she says. ?Business continuity planning is essential to ensure businesses can stay open and supply services and goods to the community.?

Hospital managers at Tauranga and Whakatane are working on contingency plans to ensure vital health services can be maintained throughout the pandemic which is expected to affect up to half the population in the next 18 months.

?We are also looking at ways to support GPs and primary healthcare workers, as they will be providing most of the health care to flu sufferers,? she says.

?Anyone who thinks they may have influenza should stay home, keep warm and ensure they drink plenty of fluids,? says Cathy. ?It?s really important to stay away from other people as this illness can spread within the community very quickly. Stay home doesn?t just mean stay home from work or school ? it means stay home from any place or activity where others are around.?

?For most people H1N1 influenza is a mild to moderate illness, similar to the seasonal influenza we expect each year. Since most people recover from infection without the need for hospitalization or medical care, treatment will be targeted at those who are most at risk,? she says. ?If medical advice is needed, people can phone Healthline 0800 611 116 or their GP.?

It?s important that people do not turn up at a medical centre or hospital without phoning ahead, as this could help spread germs to others. ?People are asked not to go to an emergency department unless they have a genuine emergency.?

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0906/S00155.htm

 

[kiwibird]

Re: NZ - Business continuity planning essential in pandemic

Vital services prepare for swine flu epidemic
Home ? Your Town
Thu, 25 Jun 2009
The Regions: North Otago | Your Town: Timaru

South Canterbury providers of emergency and essential services are confident of maintaining adequate staffing levels during a worst-case scenario for an H1N1 (swine flu) epidemic.

The police, St John ambulance, the Fire Service and the region's district councils all say they have detailed contingency plans for coping with staff absence levels of up to 30 per cent. These plans will enable them to maintain an emergency response and core essential services, they say.

South and Mid Canterbury area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said police were working on an assumption that up to 40 per cent of staff could be absent from work at any one time.

Their contingency plans put the highest priority on maintaining a rapid response to calls from the public. This would be achieved by moving "back room" staff into front-line positions, Insp Gaskin said.

"We are a big organisation and even if 90 per cent were down, we could bring in staff from other parts of the country."

Insp Gaskin said he was "as confident as I can be" that police could maintain sufficient staffing levels during an epidemic.

St John operations director Tony Blaber said they were working to the New Zealand Influenza Pandemic Action Plan, which had been activated by the Ministry of Health, and St John's own pandemic plan.

These plans assumed that up to 30 per cent of St John's workforce could be absent at any one time.

St John "would respond to any change in the situation to ensure that essential services are maintained, including emergency ambulance services", Mr Blaber said.

All ambulance crews had been advised to wear masks when dealing with patients with flu-like symptoms. Officers were only required to wear overalls and glasses when a patient could not be masked and was coughing severely or constantly, he said.

Timaru deputy fire chief Steven Greenyer said the Fire Service had contingency plans, in the form of national and regional pandemic plans, for maintaining its emergency response capability given various levels of staff absenteeism.

The Fire Service had experienced lower-than-usual staff numbers during events such as snowstorms and when seasonal flu was going round, and as a national organisation, had the ability to move staff from less affected areas to maintain capability, Mr Greenyer said.

South Canterbury's three district councils - Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie - are confident they can maintain essential core services, such as water supplies, sewerage networks and roading, if their staff are affected by swine flu.

Their assessments are based on a worst-case scenario of having up to 50 per cent of their staff on sick leave at any one time.

Each of the councils has used previous events to plan for the worst, with the avian flu scare in 2005 providing an opportunity to consider the possibility of high staff absenteeism in a viral-illness pandemic scenario.

"The snow event of three years ago gave us some experience of operating with reduced staff, and at a time when we were also managing the 'emergency','" Timaru District Council regulatory services manager Peter Thompson said.

Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils have specific health and business continuity plans in place for a pandemic-type scenario.

Waimate District Council said it had similar plans "to a degree". However, it would assess its response on a "day-by-day, week-by-week basis."

- By ANDREA KYDD-LAW and GUY WILLIAMS
http://www.odt.co.nz/the-regions/north-otago/62802/vital-services-prepare-swine-flu-epidemic