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Public Health Wales Emergency Response Plan - Dr. Gwen Lowe

Explore the legal obligations, Welsh guidance, response levels, and key roles in the Public Health Wales Emergency Response under Dr. Gwen Lowe. Understand the strategic and incident directors, senior response team roles, and examples of response levels.

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Public Health Wales Emergency Response Plan - Dr. Gwen Lowe

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  1. Public Health Wales Emergency Response Plan Dr Gwen Lowe CCDC Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  2. Legal Obligations • Category One Responder under Civil Contingencies Act 2004 • Duty to: • Assess risk of emergency occurring • Maintain Response Plans • Maintain arrangements to warn and inform public Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  3. Welsh Guidance • Key roles and responsibilities of Public Health Wales - set out in Health Emergency Planning Adviser’s interim guidance. Cardiff: WAG; 2003 • Duties on NHS organisations set out in- Welsh Assembly Government, NHS Wales Emergency Planning Guidance. Cardiff: WAG; 2010 Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  4. Public Health Wales Response Levels • Response Levels 1 to 5 • Level one- managed within resources local HPT eg: unspecified rash cluster in school, small group (eg: child minder) needing chemoprophylaxis, small chemical incident, no-one affected • Level two- no national consequences-managed within resources of all Wales HPTs with SpR, communications, LHB, pharmacy support eg: two linked meningococcal cases in school, chemical incident mildly affected people Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  5. Level 3 Level at which a national Public Health Wales response is required because of: • Size of incident • Serious public health consequences • Requires resources beyond that of the HPTs/sustained response • First response to serious novel situation/case • Substantial demands for a response externally or from media (These are called significant criteria) Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  6. Strategic and Incident Directors • Strategic- Chief Executive responsibility but can delegate. Responsible for the strategic direction and effective management of the Public Health Wales response. • Incident- Usually Director of Public Health Services- Ensures health protection elements and others co-ordinate their response and oversees delivery of agreed response Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  7. Public Health Wales Senior Response Team Roles • Assess incident and agree scale of response • Agree responsibilities • Co-ordinate and oversee the Public Health Wales response • Mobilise and direct Public Health Wales resources Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  8. Examples of Level 3 • Some blue light major incidents with multi-agency SCG (Strategic Co-ordinating Group) called • Case of serious novel illness requiring significant public health measures such as confirmed human case of H5N1 • Large outbreak of E. coli O157 • Significant flooding • Any incident with one or more significant criteria Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  9. Level 4 • The Public Health Wales will declare a major incident at level 4. Examples include: • Two simultaneous Level three incidents in Wales • incidents requiring mass community prophylaxis • Avian Influenza with significant human transmission locally • National outbreak of E. coli O157 with several hundred cases Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  10. National Co-ordination and Advisory Centre (NCAC) • This will be operational at level 4 • Provides a central support system for incident, will house Senior Response Team, Communications Team, be a focal point for central activity to support the local response Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  11. Level 5 • Major emergency with overwhelming impact on Public Health Wales • Examples: Pandemic flu, Major CBRN incident (Chemical/ Biological/Radiation/Nuclear) Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  12. What does this mean for any staff member? • Action cards for specific groups: eg: • Speciality Registrars • Business manager of affected area • On call team if incident arises out of hours • General action cards for other staff • Some Public Health Wales activities must be maintained- detailed in plan eg: emergency health protection team activities- all others staff can be redeployed into battle roles Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  13. Sample Action Card • Action Card 18: Central HP Log Support Officers • Role • To ensure that a log of all queries is maintained and circulated • Actions • Will be required to support the emergency response as necessary. In particular the following will be required: • Receiving queries and responses • Entering onto agreed database • Circulating log at regular intervals Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  14. Summary • Five response levels • Level three or above requires a central organisational response and a Senior Response Team (SRT) to be convened • Key roles are the Strategic and Incident Directors • Action Cards for staff asked to assist Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

  15. Public Health Wales Emergency Response Plan Dr Gwen Lowe CCDC Public Health Wales Emergency Response – Dr. Gwen Lowe

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