Health disaster management

Events over recent years have highlighted the need for NT Health to be prepared for a range of potential threats to the provision of our services.

In addition to the department's obligations under whole-of-government disaster management responses, the department has a responsibility to keep providing essential health and community services in the event of major threats. 

It also has a duty of care to look after its staff as well as the community. 

All hazards business continuity plan

The department's generic 'all hazards' business continuity plan is designed to address the majority of potential threats without having to create multiple plans. 

Specific plans may be required for threats not adequately addressed by the generic plan, for example pandemic influenza.

Duration

The continuity plan has a duration of a few days or a week, up to four weeks.

The impact is on a facility or building, to a township or regional community.

Purpose

Business continuity plans serve a number of important functions:

• identify the specific health and community services that are essential and must be maintained in the event of a major threat
• identify non-essential services, the delivery of which can be suspended for periods of a week to a month, allowing potentially scarce capacity and infrastructure to be focused on higher priority areas
• clarify and communicate what the contingency plans are that have been developed to sustain the services identified as essential
• provide the organisation's staff with an understanding of how communication will occur, where they will go and how they will be enabled to continue providing the essential services upon which the community relies for its health and wellbeing.