Disaster Support for Health Professionals

Natural disasters are part of the Australian climate and landscape. In recent years, the devastating drought, bushfires and floods in the Murrumbidgee region and beyond have had an enormous impact on our local communities. These natural disasters and health emergencies, such as COVID pandemic, can also pose a risk to the business continuity of primary health providers.

This webpage was developed to equip health care providers with useful resources and information to support their preparedness and response to disasters.

* This website provides access to resources and assistance for people in the Murrumbidgee. Other supports may be available and not necessarily reflected on this website. For further assistance, resources and support in the event of a natural disaster or emergency please contact the team at MPHN.

Some tips to help your practice prepare for an emergency or disaster include:

• Develop an up-to-date emergency response plan – It is a requirement of the RACGP Standards for General Practice (Standards-for-general-practices-5th-edition.aspx (racgp.org.au) for practices to develop and maintain their emergency response plan. MPHN encourages general practices to consider using RACGP Emergency Response Planning Tool (ERPT)

• A good starting point for provider disaster preparedness is having a Business continuity plan. All primary care providers can use this easy to use, fillable business continuity planning template as a starting point for developing your emergency plans (this is not designed as an ERPT replacement). You can use this template to create one for your practice.

• Test run your plan on a regular basis (e.g. create and test mock emergency scenarios)

• Contact other local primary healthcare providers to connect and offer mutual support.

• Have a communication plan in place to disseminate information about service disruptions or changes, to your patients, MPHN, RACFs and allied healthcare providers.

• Refer to Murrumbidgee HealthPathways: Rural Health and Disaster Support

Take advantage of relevant training opportunities:

• RACGP – gplearning online portal free to members

• MIMMS Courses

• MPHN CPD Events

Other useful information and resources:

Prepare a practice emergency kit 

In an emergency your practice may become isolated for days or weeks. Make sure that a generous number of critical supplies are stored onsite. Build an emergency kit that can be used by practice team members in the event of an emergency. Ensure enough supplies are included so that the practice can function for at least a week without support.

Components of a practice emergency kit include the following:

• Bottles of clean water

• Non-perishable food

• Medical equipment:

  • First aid kit

  • Doctor’s bag

  • Medications

  • Gloves

  • Office stationery, prescription pads, manual Medicare slips, medical certificate pad

• Mobile phone and charger

• Sanitation items:

  • Disinfectant

  • Hand sanitiser

  • Detergent

  • Garbage bags

• Other safety equipment:

  • Battery powered radio and batteries

  • Torch and batteries

  • Fire extinguisher

  • Fire blanket

  • PPE

• Consider solar panels and battery for general use.

You can also include  

• Hard copy of your Business Continuity Plan

• Building floor plan

• Spare keys for your premises (rooms, storage etc.)

• Hard copy of your insurance policies

• Latest stock and equipment inventory

• A copy of your Key Contacts List (team members, suppliers and essential services)

• Hard copy of your Practice Emergency Response Plan

Health professionals available to provide support.

MPHN is establishing a register of GPs, practice nurses, practice managers, administration staff and other primary health care providers willing to assist in an emergency/disaster situation. These volunteers would be contacted in the event of a disaster to provide assistance at a designated general practice or evacuation centre.

If your organisation/practice has the capacity to provide additional support to natural disaster affected regions, whether in person or remotely, please complete the form at the link below.

MPHN is here to help you with some of the challenges that you may encounter:

• MPHN Primary Care Engagement Team are your first point of contact. Through the ongoing liaison with other MPHN teams and external stakeholders they will provide you with assistance, resources and support to help your practice get back on track.

• MPHN Digital Health Team can also be contacted for any Digital Health related assistance. More information and contact details are available at Digital Health/eHealth.

• Murrumbidgee HealthPathways is a web-based portal with condition-specific ‘pathways’ to support clinicians with assessment, management and local referral information.

• MPHN Communications Team can assist you in disseminating specific messaging and change of circumstances (eg site, operational hours etc) through our weekly e-newsletters and social media channels. They can also assist in communicating about recovery and evacuation sites in your area, emergency contacts and available support services.

Please note: Follow the advice of first responding lead agencies at all times!

Keep up to date with relevant alerts and warnings during a disaster

• Bureau of Meteorology – National warnings summary / BOM Weather App

• NSW Rural Fire Service – Fires Near Me

• NSW State Emergency Service

• NSW Natural Disaster Declarations

• NSW Transport Live Traffic / Live Traffic NSW App

• ABC Radio / ABC Listen App

• Hazards Near Me App

• Emergency + App    

• Red Cross Get Prepared App

• Life in Mind

MPHN is here to support you and your community in the recovery journey:

• Trauma specific counselling service (providing extra counselling services through Government funding packages and commissioning)

• Mental Health supports – MPHN commissions a range of mental health services and is committed to ensuring people receive the right services, at the right time and in the right place.

• GP Psychiatry Support Line – GPs can access a free psychiatry advice line to help manage the care of patients with mental health concerns. The GP Psychiatry Support Line gives GPs direct and timely access to a psychiatrist, allowing patients whose conditions are treatable within primary care, to stay under the care of their GP. To access the service, visit www.gpsupport.org.au or call 1800 16 17 18

• Grant funding packages to assist impacted communities with the recovery process – see Grants page for any available packages

• Represent general practices in the regional recovery committees

• Assist in promoting services available through our electronic newsletters and social media channels.

Care and support for health professionals

Health professionals are often on the frontline of disasters, witnessing the physical and emotional impacts of these events whilst attending to the health needs of their communities. It is important that during these times, you remember to take care of your wellbeing. There are a number of services specifically designed to support health professionals, some of these services are listed below:

• RACGP GP Support Program – free and confidential psychological support service for RACGP members. Call 1300 361 008

• Doctor’s Health Advisory Service (NSW) – independent and confidential service for doctors, medical students, dentists and vets. Call DRS4DRS 24/7: 02 9437 6552

• Hand-n-Hand Network – a national peer support network for healthcare workers at the frontline of healthcare delivery in Australia

• Nurse and Midwife Support – national support service for nurses and midwives providing access to confidential advice and referral. Call 24/7: 1800 667 877

• Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA) – support service for primary healthcare nurses, providing access to professional advice and guidance. Call 1300 303 184

• Pharmacists’ Support Service – Call 1300 244 910

• CRANAplus Bush Support Service – 24/7 support for rural and remote area health professionals and their families.

• Black Dog Institute – TEN – The Essential Network for Health Professionals

• Supporting infants and children in disasters: A practice guide – Emerging Minds

• Support for community – Disaster Support for Community.

• Disaster Recovery Wellbeing Support State-wide NSW

Training and Resources

Natural Disaster Support and Resources