Evacuation Plans

Prepare for the unpredictable

During emergencies, all employers, proprietors or managers of businesses open to the public must be able to ensure the safe and timely evacuation of everyone in the practice.

How well prepared are you to deal with an emergency that requires a timely and orderly evacuation of your premises?

Moving people to safety

Having an evacuation plan increases the safety of your staff, visitors and patients – and is potentially life saving if confronted by an emergency. Does your practice have evacuation procedures in place?

Aside from the more obvious threat of fire, there are a number of events that may warrant evacuation. These include flammable or toxic gas leaks, smoke or fumes released from neighbouring premises, roadside spills containing chemical or biological materials.

While the probability of some of these events occurring is low, the fact remains that they can and do occur – and they happen more often than you might imagine. Bearing this in mind, all practices should have documented evacuation procedures in place to help when unpredictable events occur.

Plan for emergencies

When it comes to emergency planning, your practice should have the following as a minimum:

• an evacuation plan – copies of which are visible within the practice
• a strategy for relocating patients to a safe place and an understanding of the time this will take
• clearly identified exit points
• a clearly defined assembly area
• smoke detectors – to provide early warning of potential fire
• fire extinguishers – to enable early attack on a small fire
• staff awareness and training in emergency procedures, which includes nominating staff members who are responsible for the evacuation plan and are available at all times.
• regular drills or evacuation exercises to ensure the plan is effective.

As your practice / pharmacy / child care centre is likely to have patients in waiting areas and examination rooms, your emergency plan must account for all locations where the building is occupied. It should also consider all areas exposed to potential threats or danger and identify alternate exit/s that people could use if your main exit is obstructed.

Prevention is better than cure

By simply taking precautions and preparing for the unexpected you improve your ability to manage an emergency situation. You also meet the duty of care you owe to visitors, patients and staff, ie those in your care.