Pandemics – have we really learnt anything?

Leslie T Whittet highlights lessons that both business continuity managers and governments should be learning from the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak.

It is with a degree of reluctance that I set pen to paper, once again, to discuss the topic of pandemic planning, but I am an incurable optimist and I continue to hope that if enough noise is made then better practices will prevail!

At the beginning of 2007 I wrote a paper which, inter alia, challenged organizations, particularly governments, to educate the general public on the topic of pandemics and communicable diseases in general. In most countries extensive planning has occurred with focus on aspects such as critical infrastructure, health management, etc, but the level of information to the general public has been utterly abysmal. It seems to have been released on a ‘need to know’ basis. When a pandemic strikes this reactive approach is little better than useless – the horse has bolted and anxiety, if not full-blown panic, will rapidly escalate.

In Australia we have a publication entitled ‘Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza’ which contains much useful information and links to a variety of supplementary information. Its latest revision even (at last) canvasses its applicability to ‘mitigate the effect of other epidemics and infectious disease threats’ – a point that I have consistently made in all of my papers on this topic. This publication is sub-titled ‘Important Information for all Australians’ (as indeed it is), but the vast majority of Australians are blissfully unaware of its existence! In this country most people get their information from the media although it must be noted that some organizations have taken it upon themselves to educate their workforce on issues of personal hygiene, in particular. Nor is Australia alone in this flawed approach, although the converse is thankfully true for some countries such as New Zealand and the UK.

Why is this such a problem? Quite simply it comes down to the contributions that each person can make to limit the spread of disease and the fact that they should be fully known, understood and, in the majority of cases, based upon standard practice – they should be second nature. Contrast that with the almost indecent rush to now inform people, through, various media, of the need to wash hands, cover coughs and sneezes, etc. As this ‘flu outbreak spreads we are seeing comprehensive information on face masks, the use of anti-virals, vaccinations, etc. In part this information is reacting to public demand for these items – particularly anti-virals, where most countries want to target their use and where ill-informed application is likely to be useless.

The general media will exacerbate the situation by generally looking for the most dramatic angles and the use of carefully selected terminology – e.g. ‘the killer ‘flu sweeping the world’! On present performance this Influenza A(H1N1) has a lower mortality rate than the average outbreak of seasonal ‘flu, but let’s not let the facts spoil a good headline! How much better would it have been if the wealth of information that has been assembled over the last few years had been made available to the general public. People would then be able to assess the facts from an educated standpoint and the straightforward practices that individuals must adopt would already be in place.

Importantly, too, such understanding would contribute to the major issue of managing illness in the workplace. Why did we have to wait for a possible pandemic before urging people to stay home if they are sick, before considering the possible legal implications surrounding this whole aspect of communicable diseases? I know that I am generalising and I apologise to those organizations that do tackle this thorny issue, but there are other organizations that negotiate salary increases on the basis of reduced sick leave! How ludicrous does that proposition appear in the present climate?

In Australia this is a cultural issue with both sides – employers and employees – needing to drastically overhaul present practices. Many employees see sick leave – ‘sickies’ – as something NEVER to be used when you are actually ill; you go to work when you are ill so that sick leave can be used for pleasure! On the other hand, many employers place such demands upon their workers that people do not want to be absent for any reason – a worsening situation with increasing unemployment. The picture is further clouded by senior managers who, instead of setting a good example, believe that they are so indispensable to the organization that they drag themselves into work, coughing and spluttering and doing far more harm than good. It would be interesting to statistically analyse the real productivity of people in that condition!

If you are sick, STAY HOME! If someone comes to work who is obviously sick, SEND THEM HOME! This is not rocket science and it applies as much to gastric bugs as to influenza, or any other communicable disease. Organizations that imagine that they are achieving productivity increases by negotiating reduced sick leave allocations should think again and should specifically consider the culture that they are encouraging.

One final point that I would like to make concerns the economic implications of pandemics. It is my fervent hope that governments have been giving this careful consideration over the last couple of weeks because the ramifications are enormous. If industries, cities, regions are locked down who will pay the workers, how will they live and meet their financial obligations? How will small and medium enterprises, in particular, manage with no cash flow?

I have quite deliberately stayed away from listing all of the detailed policies, procedures and practices that people should have implemented and that they should now be reviewing. My earlier papers comprehensively cover the key points and a rash of new papers are appearing daily with the same advice. My intent in writing this has been to try and get leaders to capitalise on the present ‘flu outbreak and the lessons that we have already learnt in what appears to be a relatively ‘benign’ disease outbreak.

Author: Leslie T Whittet FBCI MACS MRMIA, managing consultant Leslie Whittet & Associates Pty Ltd, tel: 61 2 6292 7822 whittetl@netspeed.com.au

•Date: 6th May 2009• Region:Aus/World •Type: Article •Topic: Pandemic planning
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