Prepare your general practice and your patients for a disaster.
Complete the General Practice Disaster Planning Guide
The General Practice Disaster Planning Guide assists general practices to consider and plan for unexpected disruptions to their practice, staff and patients. This guide also indicates where activities align with RACGP practice accreditation.
Download Practice Disaster Planning Guide
Create an emergency kit
Identify how you will manage communication to patients and staff during disasters
Ensure all staff know what roles to undertake to prepare, respond to and recover from an emergency.
Undertake activities to build communication within practice team
Incorporate emergency planning topics into regular staff meetings and be proactive to manage stress and mental health
Undertake disaster training
Visit the disaster training page for options
Record important information
Ensure you have access to important information if you no longer have access to your online records or have to evacuate your site.
- Banking details
- Residential aged care homes visited
- Record list of software used
- Create list of important suppliers
- Record insurance cover
- Make a list of practice equipment
Plan for a power outage
Create a back up plan during loss of power for:
- Refrigerated vaccines
- Water pumps (if required)
- Use of a generator or uninterrupted power supply
Consider how your practice will assist at-risk patients
How your practice will assist at-risk patients?
For more guidance on disaster preparedness, refer to the RACGP’s guide Managing Emergencies in General Practice: A Guide for Preparation, Response and Recovery.
If you would like advice on disaster planning, email alyssa.horgan@swsphn.com.au, SWSPHN Integration and Priority Populations Coordinator to organise a practice visit.
Practice Disaster Planning Guide
This practice disaster planning guide aims to assist general practices plan for unexpected disruptions to operations, including the practice site, staff and care of patients.
Use this guide in conjunction with existing resources such as practice business continuity plans.
Use this Word document as a live document. Complete all of the tables and checklists and schedule in regular reviews and updates. Keep a printout of your latest version to grab and run should your practice be forced to evacuate.