Get ready and prepare

Disasters and emergencies are increasing in prevalence and impact, and the North Brisbane and Moreton Bay region has a relatively high level of exposure to extreme weather events. 

Our region can experience a range of natural disasters including floods, storms, bushfires and pandemics. These emergencies can pose a risk to business continuity in primary care. It is a requirement of the RACGP Standards of General Practice that practices prepare and maintain an emergency response plan (ERP).

Our NEW winter wellness rsources can be accessed on the right side resource panel.

Top 7 tips to be better prepared for an emergency

• Develop and maintain an up-to-date emergency response and business continuity plan.
• Exercise and review your plan on a regular basis.
• Contact other practices in your local area and agree on how you might be able to offer mutual support during an event.
• Have a plan in place to send communications to patients about service disruptions or changes.
• Have a system in place to routinely capture and check patient’s current contact details.
• Ensure patients with a My Health Record have current information records and an up-to-date shared health summary where appropriate.
• Take steps to encourage patients to have a face-to-face appointment to ensure continued telehealth eligibility.

The Disaster Preparedness Checklist can help practices prepare for emergencies and support business continuity by considering, developing, and regularly reviewing an emergency response plan.

Keep up to date with relevant alerts and warnings

Moreton Bay, Brisbane City and Somerset Regional Councils all have free SMS, email and voice alerting systems. They provide severe weather warnings, bushfire warning messages, council-prescribed burn notifications, potential flash flooding incidents and planned dam releases within our region. Messages include basic information about the type of emergency, the level of threat and recommended action to take. Subscribe to alerts and warnings by visiting your local council websites.