Exercise Forrest Gump (XFG)

An overview of Exercise Forrest Gump

How did the exercise go?
Read the information sheet for staff 
Download the XFG poster for use at emergency department triage windows
Background scenario to XFG 
View the NBN news coverage (Monday 22 September)

An introduction to Exercise Forrest Gump

16 September 2008

Dear Colleagues,

With only a week to go before the pandemic exercise Exercise Forrest Gump (XFG) commences, I would like to acknowledge the huge amount of preparatory work that has gone into the planning across the entire Area Health Service and take this opportunity to highlight the benefits that we anticipate will result for the Areas disaster preparedness.

Although this exercise is based on our pandemic plans, the scope covers many aspects of emergency response including communication, operation of the Emergency Operations Centre, policy development, public health surge capacity, novel on-line training, emergency department triage for contagious infections, and infection control. The pre-exercise planning has already identified and addressed many areas of improvement, already justifying our investment in such projects.

It is a fact of life that disasters occur, and the Hunter New England Health region has experienced it's fair share over the years. We have a responsibility to the public to provide an effective response, and the way in which Hunter New England Health employees stepped up to the mark during the June 2007 storms, bush-fires and a number of other disasters, shows that our emphasis on disaster preparation is worthwhile.

Some may view exercises with derision. But field exercises, such as XFG, allow us to test our plans under conditions that are as close to reality as possible. As such it is imperative that we seize the opportunity and build on the significant amount of work already committed to this exercise. If you are involved or affected by the exercise I ask that you cooperate as if this were a real emergency. After all, the next time it may well be the case.

Let the exercise begin…

Sincerely,

Chris Kewley
Area Health Services Functional Area Coordinator

Launch the Exercise Forrest Gump test site

To launch the Exercise Forrest Gump test site, click here (This site was live Monday 22 September - Thursday 25 September 2008)
Please note, you are now entering an exercise only web page. The information contained on this site is for exercise purposes only and is not real or factual.