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State-wide first for pandemic preparedness
“Only two mutations are necessary to make avian influenza easily transmissible amongst humans. Prepare as if it will happen tomorrow.” David Nabarro, World Health Organization.
From Monday 22 September, Hunter New England Health will commence the largest pandemic preparedness exercise ever undertaken in NSW.
As part of the week-long exercise, mock cases of people with symptoms compatible with pandemic flu will present to emergency departments across the Hunter New England Health region, which will test early recognition of pandemic flu symptoms, triage processes and infection control procedures.
Hunter New England Health Public Health Controller Dr David Durrheim said the exercise would test Hunter New England Health’s preparedness to respond to a real pandemic, should a genuine outbreak ever occur in Australia.
“The exercise will test appropriate clinical management of pandemic influenza, isolation of cases, contact tracing, employment of home quarantine and management of large numbers of public phone enquiries,” Dr Durrheim said.
“It’s important to remember that this situation is not real, it’s only an exercise, but it will help us test our ability to recognise and appropriately assess presentations of pandemic influenza, as well as our potential response, communication and preparedness as an area health service to health emergencies in general,” he said.
The exercise will not affect any members of the public, but mock cases will present to any emergency department across the Hunter New England Health region as part of the exercise.
“This is a very exciting, very real-world opportunity for us to put our processes, workforce surge capacity and disaster response plans into practice,” Dr Durrheim said.
A number of national and international external evaluators have been invited to assess the performance and ‘game play’ of Hunter New England Health staff at sites throughout the area.
“These assessors have extensive experience in pandemic and disaster planning, and will provide valuable feedback to Hunter New England Health about our disaster preparedness,” he said.
The exercise will commence on Monday 22 September and conclude on Thursday 25 September. It will involve all Hunter New England Health emergency departments and test support services at a number of health facilities.
Media: To arrange an interview, game play update or photo opportunity during the week, please contact Nicole Fuller on (02) 4921 4477 or 0408 665 019.
Please note: Any details or scenarios relating to this exercise are not real or factual.
Contact: Nicole Fuller
Phone: (02) 4921 4477 or 0408 665019
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