Business continuity: strategic guidance for NHS health boards

Foreword

Business continuity is a key discipline of building and improving the resilience of organisations and remains of paramount importance for the NHS in Scotland, since this guidance was originally published. A global pandemic and the increasing frequency of various types of disruptive events highlights the need for Business Continuity Management (BCM) as part of embedding resilience within NHS Boards. This guidance has now been reviewed and updated to support NHS Boards in continuing to maintain key services when faced with disruption.

This ‘Business Continuity: Strategic Guidance for NHS Health Boards in Scotland’ encourages and supports Health Boards to enhance their business continuity and the resilience of healthcare organisations. The revised guidance takes account of key issues and themes such as changes to Civil Contingencies Act Responder legislation; lessons identified (including Covid-19); and changes in roles and responsibilities of those involved in emergency planning at all levels. The guidance has been streamlined to focus on the strategic elements of business continuity as opposed to the granular operational details which were included in the previous document. This business continuity guidance has been produced to link with the refreshed Preparing for Emergencies 2023 document.

Business Continuity programmes support the strategic objectives of every organisation and pro-actively build the capability to continue business operations in the event of disruption. Being prepared for potential threats, risk and disruptive challenges should enable Health Boards across Scotland to remain open for business and deliver services to support staff, patients and the public.

Through a more strategic rather than operational lens, this guidance prompts Health Boards to think about the implications of, and plan for, various scenarios affecting different parts of the business. It also recognises the complexity of Health Boards and the differing scale of resources at their disposal. In this context, it promotes partnership-working across the NHS in Scotland as well as with other partner organisations as a means of ensuring adequate response capability.

I would like to thank those who have contributed, as part of the national group from Health Boards across Scotland, to refreshing this guidance and I urge senior leaders to consider this guidance and ensure appropriate business continuity arrangements and plans are in place, tested and reviewed, and the organisation is well prepared to manage the impact and consequence of disruption to normal service.

John Burns

Chief Operating Officer

NHS Scotland