In the spirit of strengthening NSW Health’s ability to deal with major public health emergencies and natural disasters, the Office of the Chief Health Officer delivered a range of specialised training and discussion exercises for the public health network in 2015. We also coordinated the establishment of a number of telephone communication services to assist the management of incidents of public health concern.
In 2015, Health Protection NSW and the Office of the Chief Health Officer continued with a series of exercises focused on public health responses to major incidents or emergencies. We brought together Health Protection NSW, Ministry of Health and public health unit staff, as well as colleagues from other health specialities (e.g. general practice, microbiology or toxicology, acute care) and partner agencies to tackle aspects of the hypothetical scenarios such as Ebola virus disease and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV). NSW Health and NSW Environment Protection Agency co-sponsored a multi-agency discussion exercise to strengthen the level of preparedness in NSW to manage the air quality impacts of a coal mine fire. Hypothetical scenarios considered as part of discussion exercises are one of the best ways to test response arrangements, build relationships and identify planning gaps.
