Emergency Response during COVID

The current pandemic has had a major impact on our lives and business and may continue for some time yet. Many organisations have closed or are operating on reduced staffing numbers and rotating rosters. How does this effect emergency response arrangements within our organisations? As we know, all facilities must have an emergency plan, and this will outline the requirements of the Emergency Control Organisation (E.C.O) members, numbers and operating hours. It must also require that an E.C.O must be present in an occupied facility during nominated business hours.

So what does this mean for you? Put simply, if you have staff within your facility, there must be an E.C.O team present and authorised under the Emergency Plan. You may need to consider this in your rostering and training requirements.

If an emergency does occur in your facility during this period, the normal emergency procedures apply. Danger has precedence and occupants must be moved from a place of danger to a safe area.

Occupants can maintain order and spacing as far as reasonably practicable and safe and may expand or relocate in the primary evacuation point to maintain spacing.

These considerations apply to all workplaces, however there are further considerations to be applied in health care and aged care facilities.

If you require further information please do not hesitate to contact the team at FERST.

Author: Alex Robertson