Business Continuity Plans
Introduction
Our nation has been thrown into turmoil with the COVID-19 pandemic. The infection numbers are expected to double every two to three days and our nation’s challenge is to slow the rate of infection. The Government’s plans are designed to manage/reduce the spread of infection over the next six months and save lives.
Background
The nation’s COVID-19 protocols continue to be escalated to reduce the rate of infection and councils are playing a significant role by:
- cancelling events and community gatherings;
- withdrawing non-essential services and closing facilities such as libraries and recreation centres;
- winding back non-essential services; and
- sending staff home.
Essential Services
As community members continue to self-isolate, demand for Council services will diminish significantly, therefore it is important for Councils to identify:
- essential services that will continue to be delivered; and
- non-essential services that will be withdrawn.
Contracted Services
Essential services to be delivered may include those services delivered by contractors such as household waste collection. Where services are delivered by contractors their business continuation plans must be confirmed by Councils.
Essential Service Plans
Essential Service Plans (ESP) need to be developed for all essential services to be continued. The ESP needs to define:
- service to be delivered – defining exactly what will be delivered and not delivered;
- hours of operation and location;
- required staffing, facilities, fleet, plant and equipment; and
- what measures will be implemented to limit contact with the public.
Councils should be encouraging communities to make enquiries and transact their business with Council by phone, email and/or website.
Emerging Services
As COVID-19 protocols continue for a prolonged period Councils need to monitor communities for emerging needs. There may be communities that will need the introduction or expansion of services such as meals-on-wheels.
Staff Register
With staff self-isolating, working from home, participating in testing protocols and undertaking carer responsibilities, it is important for Councils to track the status and availability of their staff to deliver essential services. Councils should establish and maintain a Staff Register that tracks staff status and availability. The Staff Register needs to be linked to various communication platforms for two-way contact to enable live staff status updates.
Staff Availability
The impact of COVID-19 protocols will be in place for at least six months. Councils will need access to healthy staff to provide services and ongoing community support. Steps need to be taken to ensure staff remain healthy and available.
Councils need to generate advice/instructions to all staff:
- if staff are not feeling well, they need to self-isolate;
- if staff meet the case symptom definition criteria, they need to get tested; and
- they follow social distancing guidelines at all times.
The withdrawal of services will result in reduction of staff hours. It is important for Councils to maintain a roster of healthy staff. Councils are encouraged to keep staff working minimum hours and rotate staff through front line roles. The salaries from minimum staff hours may be topped up by leave entitlements.
Public Health Function
Councils, particularly in remote communities, have responsibility for a number of public health functions. Councils need to clearly define their public health activity. This may include Environmental Health Officers inspecting mining villages for those mines that continue to operate.
Clean-up Teams
Council workplaces may be exposed to infection. Clean-up teams must be established, trained and equipped to clean up workplaces that have been exposed to infection. If public areas are maintained there might need to be a program of ongoing/regular cleaning and sterilisation.
Technology
To enable effective operation and delivery of services, while staff are working from home, the councils’ technology needs to be leveraged to enable:
- communication and collaboration amongst staff/team members;
- access to corporate data, systems and applications;
- communication with the community; and
- establishment of an interactive/live Staff Register.
Conclusion
Councils’ actions today and in coming months must be directed to protect the health of staff and ongoing community safety while providing essential services.
For ongoing advice and guidance, Councils should keep up-to-date with details on the health.gov.au website.
By John Ravlic, 25 March 2020
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