September 2024

2pm – 3pm | Tuesday 01 October

Emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time. They can be caused by severe weather, infectious diseases, industrial accidents, or by intentional acts, making it crucial for the health sector to plan and be prepared for these, as they may be high-impact, and often come unannounced.

Health districts and most health and disability service providers have a responsibility to respond to and provide health care for their communities during periods of emergencies under various Acts, regulations and national guidelines.

The ARRC contract say you must develop and implement a major incident and health emergency plan.

Cyclone Gabrielle highlighted the need for facilities to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes their way. From evacuating residents in the middle of the night, through to sourcing enough milk to make everyone a cup of tea, having a plan can make an emergency situation more doable and less stressful.

Join Andy Wisheart, Senior Advisor, North Island Business Continuity, Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ in this webinar, as he takes us through various aspects of implementing emergency management plans and best practices for ensuring business continuity.

This webinar will cover:

• Assisted dying legislation, eligibility & process
• The Act and the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights
• Health emergency legislation, regulations and national guidelines
• Overview of all government emergency management
• Emergency management specific to the health sector
• Emergency management in the funded sector (specifically, ARC)
• ARC’s role in emergency management

Presenter introduction: Andy Wisheart, Senior Advisor, North Island Business Continuity

Andy holds the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI) membership and has implemented BC projects for national and multinational organisations.

Andy spent 14 years as a front-line paramedic in NZ and the UK. Since then, he has been working in organisational resilience and health with five years as the Northern Region Primary Care Emergency Planning Managers, two years in health IT, two years as a business manager for surgical services in Greenlane Hospital, and six years as an organisational resilience consultant. He returned to Health Emergency Management in November 2022.

As the two branches of his career have been in health (clinical as well as non-clinical) and the organisational resilience sector, Andy joined the emergency management team at Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ. He is currently their national business continuity manager, bringing together his expertise in a role that he believes has real value in the continuation of Te Whatu Ora during disruption.