FEATURE Future Proofing
Bill Dunkerley, Regulatory Lawyer and Associate Partner at Pannone Corporate, discusses the steps that businesses should take to prepare for and mitigate adverse incidents.
Before 2020, it’s unlikely that any care business considered the possibility of a global pandemic to be anything other than a theoretical risk. Fast-forward three years and the emergence of Covid-19 has demonstrated that organisations have to be prepared for all risks, including those which may only be academic in nature.
However, without the benefit of a crystal ball, how can care businesses best prepare themselves for risks which may not yet be apparent?
It is prudent for all businesses to have in place a response procedure, which comes into effect in the event of an adverse incident. While organisations are usually alive to the specific risks inherent in their operations, it’s unlikely to be practical – or even possible – to draſt a protocol which would respond to every conceivable incident that may arise. That being said, there are common themes which businesses may wish to take into account when preparing and updating their own incident response procedures and Covid-19 highlighted many for the care industry.
WHAT SHOULD AN INCIDENT RESPONSE
PROCEDURE CONTAIN? The shape, content and format of any organisation’s incident response document is a matter of individual utility, but
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overriding all considerations of form it must be of direct application to the business concerned, and capable of practical use and easy understanding by staff on the occurrence of an adverse incident.
IDENTIFY THE CORE RISKS TO
YOUR BUSINESS Businesses in different sectors will face different day-to-day risks. For example, the health and safety risks faced by a construction company will vary significantly from those faced by a business in the care sector.
However, every organisation should be alive to the core risks created as a result of its operations and how these may impact employees, residents, and members of the public. As a minimum, organisations should have in place control measures in respect of these daily hazards and address them within their incident procedure.
In addition, business should be mindful of those components which go to the crux of their operations and without which the business would not be able to continue.
DOCUMENT THE RESPONSE PROCESS The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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