Business continuity: strategic guidance for NHS health boards

Executive Summary

This guidance was developed by a national working group established by the Scottish Government’s Health Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response Division (EPRR) and included members from across the NHS in Scotland. This guidance focuses on the strategic high level aspects of Business Continuity Management (BCM) which allows for local interpretation on how each Board delivers at an operational level to suit their business needs.

The guidance covers four main areas of BCM, those being the Purpose, Principles and Process of Business Continuity Management; Roles and Responsibilities; Business Continuity Management Principles and Testing, Exercising and Review.

Section 1 focuses on the Purpose, Principles & Process of Business Continuity Management and highlights the need for the NHS in Scotland being able to plan for, respond to and recover from, a wide range of incidents that could affect health or patient care.

Section 2 sets out the roles and responsibiltiies of NHS Health Boards in Scotland; The Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Directorate; NHS Boards’ Leadership and External Contracted Service Providers.

Section 3 sets out the overarching principles of what a BCM plan should be composed of, referencing the Organisational Resilinece Standards and the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat Guidance.

Section 4 covers Testing, Exercising and Review of BCM plans. As part of the Business Continuity Cycle, all BCM plans need to be tested and exercised. BCM arrangements cannot be considered reliable until they have been tested, exercised and proven to be workable for all parties.