The importance of a solid Business Continuity Plan

Look at all your processes and procedures; identify the critical activities of your hospice, because when it comes to an emergency you'll have to concentrate on the tasks and activities that need to be completed in order to keep you open. 

It is important to look at every angle including how it could impact staff as well as IT, communications, and environmental risks. Would your organisation still be able to function if key staff were out of the office unexpectedly?  

What is the process of contacting your patients and their families if a COVID/flu outbreak occurred?

Think about weather warnings that may be likely to happen in your area – will staff be able to get into the premises or to a specific location?

We know that organisations are better equipped following the pandemic to deal with unexpected crisis, but it’s essential that you do not rest on your laurels, and you assess the chance of something you haven’t prepared for happening such as the cost of living crisis and how this may affect staff.

You can then work out how reduce the risk or accept the risk with a suitable workaround that is safe for both staff and service users.

Having analysed and assessed all your potential risks, you'll need to work out the scale of disruption that these risks could cause to any of your critical activities.

What resources would you need to recover to maintain your business activity? Who is going to be responsible for implementing this strategy?

At this point, you need to establish exactly what should be done when something unexpected happens and then work out what procedures are needed to initiate your continuity plan.

You should look at your communication procedures, for example, who would need to be contacted and by whom?

Make sure that your plan includes key contacts, staff, suppliers, service users, patients and their families. Decide how long it will take for 'normal business' to resume and write down a timetabled plan, so you know precisely what to do and when.

This is a crucial step, as an untested plan can be just as bad as no plan at all. It's essential that you know that your plan works, is relevant and adequate.

Remember to update your plan regularly, to account for changes in business operations and any changing circumstances such as extreme weather, national strikes and more.

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