Management of Public Health Incidents: Guidance on the Roles and Responsibilities of NHS led Incident Management Teams - October 2011

KEY PRINCIPLES

27. The key principles of Incident Management are:

• A state of preparedness;
• Clarity of purpose and integrated working;
• An early and effective response;
• Effective communication with the public and among agencies;
• Learning from experience; and
• Workforce education development

28. A state of preparedness

The management of public health incidents should not be regarded as an activity relevant exclusively to an emergency response, but should be integrated into an NHS Board's overall health protection arrangements. Effective day-to-day working in the surveillance, prevention, treatment and control of illnesses related to exposure to hazards or disease and coupled with sufficient capacity in these services to respond to unforeseen increases in need will enable an effective response to an incident.

29. Clarity of purpose and integrated working

Public health incidents usually require an integrated response from more than one organisation. NHS Boards must work jointly with Local Authorities and other partners to draw up co-ordinated incident response plans, protocols and procedures, which should be regularly updated. These should include the capability of involving other neighbouring and national agencies should this be necessary. Some NHS Boards have mutual aid arrangements with other NHS Boards and the DPH/CPHM and other staff should be familiar with local arrangements. Plans should be cross referenced to Joint Health Protection Plans as required by the Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008.

30. An early and effective response

The prompt detection of and response to an actual or potential public health incident is crucial. Front-line medical and laboratory staff should be aware of and competent to diagnose illnesses likely to present immediate public health risks. Epidemiological systems should be capable of distinguishing clusters of cases requiring further investigation and control. Systems for monitoring water and air quality should be able to detect the presence of hazards likely to endanger public health. NHS Boards should ensure that mechanisms are in place to collect and collate and continually review information from these sources, to take prompt decisions on the nature and levels of risks to public health, and to co-ordinate action from a range of agencies to reduce these.

31. Effective communication with the public and among agencies

Where appropriate the NHS Boards should keep the public informed about public health incidents as widespread public anxiety can occur as a result of outbreaks and incidents. Where appropriate NHS Boards must brief the Scottish Government, HPS, local health care staff, and partners in local and national agencies. They must work effectively with the media. Systems should be in place to enable the rapid transfer of information on public health incidents. Those charged with managing incidents should regularly report on progress to the agencies to which they are accountable.

32. Learning from experience

Those involved in managing incidents are expected to evaluate and report on the effectiveness and efficiency of their efforts. NHS Boards, Local Authorities, and National agencies should share information on public health incidents with interested parties, so that the whole service can learn from the experience of others. The Health Protection Network (HPN) has agreed to have a role in promoting best practice and lessons learned amongst NHS Boards following public health incidents (Annex F).

33. Workforce education development

Staff from all agencies who may contribute to managing public health incidents should receive appropriate workforce education development opportunities (including CPD activities) to support implementation of this guidance. A sub group of the Health Protection Education Advisory Group is currently overseeing the development of resources to support multi-agency training in incident management.