Prepare

• Develop and maintain an up-to-date emergency response and business continuity plan. 

• Exercise and review your plan on a regular basis. 

• Contact other practices in your local area and agree on how you might be able to offer mutual support during an event. 

• Have a plan in place to send communications to patients about service disruptions or changes. 

• Have a system in place to routinely capture and check patient’s current contact details. 

• Ensure patients with a My Health Record have current information records and an up-to-date shared health summary where appropriate. 

• Take steps to encourage patients to have a face-to-face appointment to ensure continued telehealth eligibility. 

NQPHN has its Emergency Disaster Management Plan and Business Continuity Plan in place, and particularly encourages general practices, pharmacies, and other primary healthcare providers to do the same as soon as possible, so that they are prepared, well stocked and best positioned to respond to crises and the health needs of their communities. 

• Business continuity planning (Queensland Government) 

• Preparing your business for natural disasters (Queensland Government) 

• How to prepare an emergency management plan (Australian Government) 

• Emergency Planning resources (Australian Disaster Resilience) 

• Emergency and pandemic resources for general practices (RACGP) 

• Managing emergencies in General Practice (RACGP) 

• Emergency Response Planning Tool (RACGP) 

• Summer Planning Toolkit (RACGP) 

• Winter Planning Toolkit (RACGP) 

• Powered medical devices and disasters (Queensland Government) 

• Health and safety during and after a disaster (Queensland Government) 

• Local Government Areas 

  • ​​​​​Disaster dashboards – Queensland’s local governments have disaster dashboards and/or websites that provide important information to support local communities during and after disaster events.  

• Cairns Regional Council  

  • Stay informed  

  • Disaster Dashboard  

  • Disaster Centre Facebook page  

• Townsville City Council  

  • Stay informed 

  • Disaster Dashboard  

  • Disaster Information Facebook page  

• Mackay Regional Council  

  • Disaster Dashboard  

  • SES Disaster Facebook page  

• Local radio  

  • ABC local radio  ​​​​​​​

  • Search for known ABC frequencies & coverage - Australian Broadcasting Corporation  

Emergencies can impact residential aged care homes' (RACHs) ability to provide services. Preparing for emergencies helps lessen these impacts. 

• Residential Aged Care – Planning Resource (Queensland Government) 

Find out more. 

• Develop and maintain an up-to-date emergency response plan.

• Exercise your plan on a regular basis.

• Contact other practices in your local area and agree on how you can offer mutual support.

• Have a plan in place to send communications to patients about service disruptions or changes.

• Update medication lists and health care plans – with consideration to impacts of compounding disasters (e.g. pandemic x floods).

• Have a system in place to routinely capture and confirm every patient’s current contact details.

• Ensure that patients with a My Health Record have current information recorded and an up-to-date shared health summary where appropriate.

• Take steps to encourage patients to have an in-person appointment to ensure continued telehealth eligibility.  

• Current Queensland Government Warnings  

• National Emergency Management Agency  

• Bureau of Meteorology Queensland Warnings  

• Queensland Forecast Areas Map (bom.gov.au)  

• Queensland Fire and Emergency Services  

• Queensland Government Disaster Management  

More information about NQPHN's Emergency SMS Alert System can be found here.

Visit the Get Ready Queensland website for a variety of useful advice and resources to help you prepare (and recover) from a disaster event. 

The following websites and fact sheets will help you to be prepared for a disaster: 

Queensland Government 

• Get Ready Queensland 

• Dangerous Weather Emergency Checklist 

• Protect what's most important to you 

• Protection while you are out and about 

• Preparing for Disasters 

• Prepare your home 

• Prepare an emergency kit 

• Prepare for evacuation 

• Check your neighbours 

• Emergency pantry list 

• Formula feeding during an emergency 

• Pet emergency planning 

• Stock up your pantry 

• Emergency kit 

Other resources 

• 3 things we can do now to help people with disability prepare for disaster (theconversation.com)  

• Homelessness & Disaster: Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (Collaborating 4 Inclusion)