Australia RACGP Standards for After-hours and Medical Deputising Services (5th edition) C3.3: Emergency response plan: the service has a plan for unexpected events such as natural disasters, pandemics, power, IT or telephony failure and the unplanned absence of clinicians, covering how care continues and how practices and patients are kept informed

What does C3.3 require?

An after-hours service is often the only general practice option available when disruption strikes. Its emergency response plan identifies the events most likely in its setting, such as storm, flood, extended power, internet or telephone outage, pandemic disease, vehicle failure or the sudden loss of a practitioner, and sets out who does what: contacting staff, patients and the practices it serves, suspending or redirecting services, protecting records and vaccines, arranging cover and communicating publicly. The plan is known to the team, accessible off site, and tested or reviewed at intervals.