National incident response levels: guidance for health boards

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Context

This guidance sets out the national incident response levels for Health Boards in Scotland. It details how Boards will be expected to undertake their responsibilities in responding to disruptive events/incidents and emergencies.

The guidance was created to complement and be used in conjunction with the Preparing for Emergencies Guidance for Health Boards in Scotland (2023) and Business Continuity: Strategic Guidance for NHS Health Boards in Scotland (2023).

1.2 Aim of the guidance

The aim of this guidance is to “provide a strategic approach to managing any type and level of incident response impacting a health board’s capability to provide and maintain services and/ or care to patients”

1.3 Who is this guidance for?

The guidance is primarily for use by the Chief Executives of Health Boards in Scotland in collaboration with the Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland, and the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSCD).

It has been designed for use at local, regional, and national level, therefore those working in business continuity, emergency response and service planning should familiarise themselves with the guidance to help inform their understanding of the escalation and response process to assist planning, preparation and decision making.

Health boards should use the guidance to support governance and decision making in assessing the type and level of response required. More information on governance is provided in Section 5.

SGHSCD will use the guidance to help in the command, control, and coordination of national level incidents as necessary in line with Scottish Government objectives and responsibilities. This will include:

• supporting national level incidents and response with support from other HSC directorates;
• liaison with other SG/UKG national response structures; and
• ensure Scottish Ministers are briefed and updated throughout the incident period.