(A109) Health Workforce and Disaster Preparedness of Rural Hospitals

Following the devastating March 2009 Victorian bushfire disaster in rural areas of Australia, authorities reviewed strategies designed to protect communities during periods of extreme fire risk. New policy and regulation were introduced and designed to ensure that small rural communities were protected and prepared to confront a wildfire emergency during days of extreme heat or bushfire risk weather. As a result on days of declared ‘catastrophic’ bushfire weather conditions government agencies in South Australia have implemented a policy for schools (including pre-schools) to be temporarily closed. On these days community members are advised to evacuate early to safe regional centres, and to limit travel on country roads. The WADEM Guidelines for Disaster Evaluation and Research demonstrate that Basic Societal Functions (BSFs), such as education, health, transport and others, are interconnected and interdependent. For example in small rural communities in South Australia people may have a number of important roles including being parents, volunteers of emergency services while also being employed as staff of local hospitals. This project reviewed the impact of school closures and other protective measures on the availability of the rural nursing workforce and on rural hospitals. Rural hospitals in Australia are staffed, on average, by 2–8 nurses, service very small communities and are separated by great distances. As a result, small changes in the absentee rate for nurses can have a significant impact on the operation of these hospitals. This paper will argue that policy changes in other sectors, such as education, can impact on societal activities such as childcare, volunteer emergency service work, and hospital staffing, in ways that may not be anticipated unless the impact on all Basic Societal Functions are considered by policymakers.