How good was your organisation’s emergency plan?

I'm writing this blog post as I wait for cyclone Alfred to make its landfall somewhere close to Brisbane where I live. It's been very much a waiting game, so far we thankfully have avoided heavy winds and rain, although I don't doubt they will arrive soon. Whilst we are reasonably well prepared, after the cyclone has passed there will inevitably be a clean up phase, clearing away debris caused by the cyclone or floods, but what happens after that?

For home owners we will probably be evaluating how well prepared we were and how our homes stood up to the stress. For providers who were busy ensuring the vulnerable in our communities were safe over this time and that essential services continued to be delivered where possible, once this and other emergencies are over, what it the next step in emergency management, because it doesn't, or shouldn't stop there.

The Australian Government expects aged care providers to have robust emergency preparedness policies to support service continuity.

In Australia, emergencies like cyclones, floods, wild fires, extended days of extreme temperatures and infectious disease outbreaks like the flu, pose significant risks to older people receiving aged care services. Whether you provide home care or residential care, responding effectively during a crisis is crucial—but what happens after the immediate danger has passed is just as important.

Once the situation is under control, aged care providers need to take a good hard look at their emergency response plan and procedures to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement on the back of the emergency. This review process should include meetings to debrief, gathering feedback, reviewing policies and processes, and making necessary updates to emergency plans.

Post-emergency reviews should be embedded into provider continuous improvement processes, so they are better prepared for future crises and can continue to offer care and safety to their clients even during emergency situations. So how do you conduct a post emergency review?

1. Conduct an Internal Review of the Emergency Response

The first step after an emergency event is to reflect on how well the response aligned with your organisation’s emergency plan. Some key questions to ask include:

• Were staff able to follow emergency procedures effectively?
• Were residents or home care clients kept safe and informed?
• Were resources (e.g., PPE, emergency supplies, backup power) sufficient?
• Did communication systems work well under pressure?

For example, in a home care setting, a cyclone may cause power outages, leaving vulnerable clients without the ability to charge essential medical equipment. The review might reveal that staff were unsure of how to coordinate emergency power solutions. In a residential care setting, an infectious disease outbreak may have exposed gaps in infection control training or PPE availability.

What you can do next:

• Gather incident reports, shift notes and phone contact logs along with any records from the emergency period.
• Identify what worked well and where gaps appeared.
• Create a summary report of initial findings.

2. Hold Debrief Meetings with Key Stakeholders

Once the initial review is complete, bring those directly affected by the emergency together where possible and gather firsthand insights.

• Internal team debriefs: Meet with staff (or individual home care workers) to discuss challenges they faced, how well they were able to follow procedures, and any areas they feel need improvement.
• Resident and family feedback sessions: Give residents or home care clients, along with their families, an opportunity to share concerns or positive experiences from your response.
• Engage external partners: If emergency services, government agencies, or suppliers (e.g., food or medical suppliers) played a role, seek their input on how well coordination worked.

An example of this might be reviewing the impact of a severe summer heatwave, a home care provider might learn that some clients were left without air conditioning for extended periods. The debrief could reveal a need for better pre-planning, such as ensuring clients have cooling alternatives or emergency relocation options.

What you can do next:

• Document feedback from different stakeholder groups.
• Identify common themes and concerns raised in debriefs.
• Use insights to shape recommendations for changes to the emergency response plan.

3. Conduct Surveys for Broader Insights

While meetings capture immediate concerns, anonymous surveys can gather additional perspectives that might not be openly shared in discussions.

• Staff surveys: Allow workers to provide honest feedback on whether they felt prepared and supported.
• Resident and family surveys: Ask about their sense of safety, communication, and areas where they felt service could have been improved.

For example a residential facility may have needed to evacuate residents due to a flood risk, a survey conducted by the provider with family members after the emergency might reveal that many felt left in the dark due to delayed communication, highlighting the need for a better notification system, such as SMS alerts or an emergency contact number.

What you can do next:

• Review survey results and identify key themes.
• Compare findings with debrief discussions.
• Prioritise issues that need immediate action.

4. Review and Update Emergency Plans

With insights from reviews, meetings, and surveys, it's time to compare real-world events to the existing emergency plan. Often our emergency plans are, or should be, developed well in advance of any emergency which means there is a degree of uncertainty that everything has been covered. You might want to consider:

• Were emergency procedures followed as expected?
• Was the specific emergency and its impacts on clients or service delivery anticipated?
• Were essential services to vulnerable clients / residents maintained throughout the event?Did staff feel confident in carrying out their roles?
• Did communication channels work effectively?

For example after the COVID-19 outbreak, many residential care providers realised their care teams knowledge of how to apply infection control procedures was insufficient to manage this type of outbreak. Updating their emergency plan to include clearer step-by-step instructions and designated infection control leaders can help manage the impact of future outbreaks.

For home care providers, the many extreme weather events across Australia has resulted in updating emergency plans to involve a formal process for welfare checks on vulnerable clients during these events.

What you can do next:

• Identify gaps and make necessary updates to the emergency plan.
• Ensure all staff are aware of changes.
• Keep records updated for compliance and accreditation purposes.

5. Strengthen Communication Strategies

Effective communication is often a challenge during emergencies. After reviewing the event, providers should evaluate how well information was shared with staff, residents, clients, and families.

• Did staff receive timely and accurate instructions?
• Were residents and home care clients kept informed?
• Did families receive clear updates?

For example, if a home care provider struggled to track staff and client locations during a flood, investing in a central communication platform (such as a real-time emergency messaging app) might improve coordination in the future.

What you can do next:

• Review internal and external communication channels.
• Implement tools that improve real-time updates.
• Provide staff with training on improved communication methods.

6. Update your Continuous Improvement Plan

A strong emergency response is not just about reacting to events—it’s about improving for the future. You want to show that your organisation is proactive and learns from events and incidents to keep clients or residents and staff safe and able to provide ongoing quality care.
Ensure that identified issues and improvements are recorded in your organisation's continuous improvement plan.

What you can do next:

• Record improvement actions in your continuous improvement plan and assign tasks.
• Update policies and processes where necessary.
• Schedule training sessions based on identified gaps.
• Review your emergency plans periodically to ensure continued effectiveness.

Emergencies are unpredictable, but aged care providers can learn from every event to strengthen their response for the future. Taking the time to review your response, gather feedback, update emergency plans, and improve communication will help ensure you are better prepared and can continue to provide essential care and services to older adults accessing aged care.

So start reviewing your last emergency response—identify what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to change? Implementing even small improvements today can make a big difference when the next crisis arises.

If you need help with your emergency planning or any other management processes or you are looking to get ready for the upcoming reforms then reach out to us here at CDCS, we're happy to have a conversation about how we can help you.