Summer in Western Australia is a high-risk season of bushfires, cyclones, heatwaves, thunderstorms, and the wet season. General practices play a vital role in supporting communities during such events and it is timely to start preparing your practice and your patients. Steps to prepare your practice include:
- Review and complete your Emergency Response Planning Tool. Consider things like power outages that impact cold chain; access to patient records; air conditioning and other key considerations.
- Consider business continuity planning that would support primary care delivery during a disaster.
Encouraging patients at most risk to prepare and plan, including:
- Ensuring they have sufficient medications on hand.
- Ensuring they establish a reliable location to go to in the event of evacuation.
- Encouraging them to review emergency plans.
- Directing them to the most appropriate source of information (see below).
Who is most at risk?
- Children, older people, pregnant people, people experiencing homelessness and people living with a disability.
- Patients living with chronic conditions and/or on multiple medications.
- Patients that are unable to adapt due to dementia, disability, substance abuse, pregnancy, breastfeeding or other factors.
- Those impacted by environmental factors e.g., outdoor workers.
- Aboriginal people living in remote areas.
Key links:
- Emergency WA – State-wide incident information
- The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) – About ERPT
- Practice Assist – Free ERPT resource
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) – Live emergency information
- Bureau of Meteorology – weather data
- Main Roads – Road closures and diversions
- Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) – Emergency prevention and preparedness