Accreditation practice pointer: emergency response plan

C3.3A  Our practice has an emergency response plan for unexpected events, such as natural disasters, pandemic diseases, or unplanned absences of clinical team members.

RACGP Standards for general practice, 5th edition.

General practice needs to be prepared for any emergency to ensure both continuity of care and minimal impact on business operations. This can be achieved by maintaining an Emergency Response Plan. Emergencies can take many forms including a patient experiencing cardiac arrest, a pandemic, staff taking unexpected leave or natural disasters.  

There must be one team member responsible for overseeing the emergency response plan, and all staff need to understand it. It is a good opportunity for team members to share their skills and knowledge. Essentially, all staff must be able to assist in any emergency. Practices can enhance emergency readiness by creating and testing test mock emergency scenarios. 

Emergency response processes must all be reviewed regularly at team meetings and updated when necessary.