The mandate of the Simcoe County District Health Unit is to prevent disease and injury and promote and protect the health of the public. The agency is resourced to fulfill this mandate and staff are deployed in accordance with the agency mandate to address the health needs of the community. Occasionally an event occurs which threatens the health, safety and welfare of a community and requires a controlled and coordinated response by a number of agencies including the health unit.

The Health Protection and Promotion Act provides the Medical Officer of Health with the authority to take appropriate action in the event of a health hazard to prevent, eliminate or decrease the effect of the hazard within the community. The Act also requires that the Board of Health have the capacity to respond to an emergency 24 hours a day.

In the event of an emergency or the threat of an emergency, the medical officer of health may deploy staff as necessary to minimize the health risk to the community.

The health unit will be prepared to respond in the event of an emergency. Those preparations will include, but not be limited to:

• Clearly established roles and responsibilities for the Medical Officer of Health in the event of an emergency
• Establishing and maintaining a means of liaising and integrating activities with other concerned agencies including municipalities, health and social service providers, emergency workers and government ministries
• A clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of service areas within the agency
• A protocol for notification of staff
• Clearly established protocols for deployment of health unit staff during non business hours
• On going identification of key resources necessary to operate in the event of an emergency
• Regular orientation and updating of staff related to their roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency

1. The Emergency Response Plan is reviewed and revised annually by the Emergency Response Coordinator in conjunction with service area directors.
2. Minor administrative changes can be made directly to the plan without approval and recorded on the amendment notice in the manual. Major revisions are forwarded to the Medical Officer of Health for approval.
3. The Emergency Response Coordinator ensures that all manuals reflect changes made.

1. Emergency response fan-out lists are generated quarterly from the agency staff list. The Emergency Response Coordinator is responsible for ensuring Service Area Directors and Managers receive updated lists.
2. Managers are responsible for ensuring all staff are included on the list and for notifying the human resource coordinator of any errors or omissions.

The Emergency Response Coordinator ensures that Emergency Response supplies and materials are inventoried annually and replaced or updated as necessary.

1. The Emergency Response Coordinator in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health will conduct an annual test of the Emergency Notification System.
2. The health unit will participate with local communities in emergency response planning and exercises as appropriate.