Module 2 – Response | Ensure a safe working environment
Entering the practice during or after an emergency
If you and your team have been required to evacuate, entering during or re-entering a practice after an emergency can be hazardous.
Before anyone enters or re-enters your practice, seek professional advice from either a building engineer or a responsible member of the emergency response team about when it is safe to enter the building.
If you can enter your practice, scan your environment and check for any hazards or dangers. Where safe and appropriate, resolve identified hazards. For more significant or concerning hazards and dangers, alert your team to their existence and, if possible, find a way to ‘highlight’ or section off the area of concern. If you are able, take photographs of damage to the property and important equipment.
Contact your relevant local authority (depending on the type of hazard) to seek advice and assistance regarding next steps.
Applying infection control measures
If the event at hand presents a risk of infection transmission throughout your practice, infection control measures will need to be applied. The measures you will need to apply will depend on the specific scenario and your assessment of the risks the scenario presents.
Your practice will already have infection prevention and control policies in place that should be referred to and applied as appropriate.