Planning and Preparedness
Last updated November 20, 2023
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Planning and Preparedness
In the last years, the Hunter New England and Central Coast has been affected by various disasters, including floods, bushfires, drought, the Covid-19 pandemic and a rodent plague.
Emergencies and disasters may affect primary care providers and their staff, and the community they work and live in, and may cause multisystemic losses.
For providers, disaster preparedness is a vital step to reduce vulnerability, to minimise risk and to increase their business and workforce resilience. Being prepared ensures that you and your staff are ready to respond if a disaster affects your business.
The PHN is actively supporting disaster preparedness for primary care providers with:
The 2023 PHN Winter Trilogy for Disaster Preparedness
Disaster preparedness for primary care providers education videos
Emergency Planning and Response Toolkit (ERPT)
The PHN is supporting HNECC General Practices in developing their individual disaster preparedness and business continuity plan by offering 100 free 12-month licences for the RACGP accredited ERPT tool.
Resources on business continuity planning incl. establishing an emergency plan on HealthPathways
HealthPathways is NOT designed to be used by patients or general community members and as such a user name and password are required to use the site. Clinicians without access can request password details by contacting us.
Tips for disaster preparedness
- Have an emergency plan and business continuity plan in place
- Have a plan how to communicate disruptions to staff and patients
- Communicate this plan with your staff, incl. newly onboarded staff
- Update the plan regularly (6-12 months interval, or if major changes apply)
- Practice your plan regularly (test run)
- Have a buddy-practice
Keep up to date: Alerts and declarations for your area.
Hazards Near Me (App)
Local emergencies
Find current information about local emergencies, including bushfires, floods, tsunamis and advice on what to do to stay safe
Emergency Plus App
GPS for emergency
Developed by Australia’s emergency services and their Government and industry partners, the SES GPS functionality built into smart phones to help a Triple Zero (000) caller provide critical location details required to mobilise emergency services
NSW Rural Fire Service: Fire Danger Ratings and Bans
Fire danger rating
Fire danger ratings give you an indication of the consequences of a fire if one was to start. The higher the fire danger, the more dangerous the conditions.
Bureau of Meteorology – Warnings
Weather warnings
Provides a summary of the valid weather warnings issued in each State.
NSW Natural Disaster Declarations
LGAs affected by Natural Disaster
Frequently updated list of Local Government Areas (LGAs) that have been impacted by a natural disaster. With a disaster declaration for their area, affected communities and individuals can access a range of special assistance measures.
Bushfire.io
natural disaster map
Natural disaster map with national warning and incident maps, hotspots, wind overlays, notifications