<br>Disaster and emergency support for health professionals
Healthy North Coast works with primary care providers, health services and regional partners to help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and other emergencies.
This page provides practical information, local contacts and resources for general practices, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, pharmacies, allied health providers, aged care services and other health professionals across the North Coast.
During an emergency
For immediate or life-threatening emergencies, call Triple Zero (000).
Is your service affected?
First, we recommend updating Health Direct. Following this and depending on the scope and scale of the disruption across our region we may reach out and collate information about services that are;
- closed or operating with reduced hours
- relocating or changing how patients can access care
- experiencing power, telecommunications, staffing or supply disruptions
- available to provide additional support to affected communities
- needing help to connect with local health services or emergency response partners.
Stay informed
Monitor current warnings, road conditions and emergency information through:
- Hazards Near Me NSW – emergency warnings and watch zones
- Bureau of Meteorology – weather forecasts and warnings
- Live Traffic NSW – road closures and travel conditions
- ABC Local Radio – local emergency broadcasts
- Emergency Plus – location information to assist emergency services.
Contact Healthy North Coast
Healthy North Coast’s Primary Care Regional Managers are generally the first point of contact for primary care providers needing information or assistance before, during or after an emergency.
They can help:
- connect your organisation with local response and recovery networks
- communicate service disruptions and changes
- identify emerging health needs
- coordinate information across the primary care sector
- connect you with relevant resources and support.
There may also be times when we allocate a Key Lead or Primary Care Manager during disaster response and that persons details and the scope of their role will be communicated. We take this step based on the scope and scale of the disruption across our region.
Prepare your organisation
Disasters can disrupt staff, buildings, power, telecommunications, transport, medicines, clinical systems and access to essential supplies.
Keeping your emergency and business continuity plan up to date helps your organisation continue providing safe care and recover faster after a disruption.
Emergency planning checklist
Use this checklist to assess your practice’s emergency preparedness.
General practices should ensure their emergency response planning meets relevant RACGP Standards.
maintain an emergency response and business continuity plan
identify essential services and critical business functions
keep staff, supplier and emergency contact lists current
plan for power, internet, phone and clinical system outages
protect and back up patient and business information
identify alternative premises and models of care
plan how you will communicate changes to patients
identify staff roles and responsibilities during an emergency
connect with nearby health providers for mutual support
regularly test, review and update the plan.
Disaster HealthPathways
Local HealthPathways provide clinical and operational guidance to support health professionals before, during and after a disaster.
Available pathways include:
Preparing a general practice for a disaster
Guidance for developing and maintaining a disaster response plan.
[View pathway]
Preparing patients for a disaster
Information and resources to help patients prepare for extreme weather and other emergencies.
[View pathway]
General practice disaster response
Local updates and guidance for practices continuing to operate, clinicians supporting evacuation centres, medication management, vaccination and access to My Health Record.
[View pathway]
Health after a natural disaster
Clinical information about common physical and mental health presentations following disasters, including infectious disease risks.
[View pathway]
Disaster support
Financial, psychosocial and practical support for affected community members, practices and health professionals.
[View pathway]