Pandemic Flu Contingency Plan - Sylvester Keal Coomercial Catering Services & Supplies

17/07/2009

Pandemic Flu Contingency Plan

Now that the authorities are no longer trying to prevent the spread of swine flu, the concerns should be for the disruption to their business rather than the health hazard itself. Unless people are in the ‘at risk’ category, swine flu is unlikley to be any worse than normal season flu, and in most cases will be less severe.

Sylvester Keal need to:

Have a tried and tested business contingency plan.
3 x Directors who can assist if anyone is absent
5 x Line Managers who can assist in the absence of directors or other employees
Drivers & Sales Team who can multi task in the absence of employees & peers
Engineers who can assist drivers, sales team, in their absence
Sub Contractors who can assist in the absence of engineers, drivers, sales team, office staff, managers & directors
Identify employees and tasks that are essential to their business. Make sure that the knowledge is shared and that other staff are trained in key tasks so that absences can be covered – this is particularly important if there are hazardous work activities involved.
Encourage employees who are infected or suspect they are infected to stay at home and seek medical advice.
Encourage flexible working practices - this might mean encouraging employees to work from home or flexible hours to enable them to look after ill dependants.
Consider our suppliers and sub-contractors. Are any of them critical to our business? Will they be able to give us the support we require? Contractors to be asked for their contingency plans.
Maintain hygiene in the workplace. We stress the need to use disposable tissues, and a daily routine of cleaning and disinfecting of desktops and hard surfaces with disinfectant disposable wipes and particularly disinfecting door handles, keyboards & telephones. Anti-bacterial hand gel is provided for the use of every employee.
Encourage employees to take personal responsibility to protect themselves e.g. by hand washing.
We will consider cancelling conferences or meetings and hold video conferences or online meetings instead, and also the use of email & telephone.

Best Practice Recommendations

Sylvester Keal recommend employers should:

Set up pandemic action teams.
Create business contingency plans.
Promote general hygiene and hand hygiene in particular, in the workplace.
Position hand sanitisers at entry points (e.g. receptions) into the workplace for employees, customers and visitors.
Provide appropriate facilities for hand washing in washrooms and hand sanitising away from washrooms.
Give clear advice to employees about what to do if they have flu like symptoms.
Give clear advice to employees who have children or other family members they care for, who may have influenza (including H1N1 swine flu).

Sylvester Keal recommend employees should:

Keep up to date with public health advice:
Check websites such as the CDC, WHO and Department of Health as they will be updated regularly as information becomes available.
Ask your employer for advice to help prevent the spread of germs in your workplace.
Take everyday actions to stay healthy
Sneeze or cough in to sleeve/elbow, or cover your nose and mouth with a tissue. Throw the tissue in the bin after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze and when visiting the bathroom.
Alcohol-based hand sanitisers should be used where there is no convenient access to hand washing facilities e.g. at your desk or work station and when on-the-move.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth to help prevent the spread of germs.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Health authorities recommend you stay at home if you are sick for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. This is to avoid infecting others and spreading the virus further.
Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.