Disasters are part of the Australian landscape. Bushfires, floods, cyclones, and drought reoccurring consistently across the continent. Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and general practitioners (GPs) are scattered across Australia and are inevitably involved when disasters strike their local communities. Limited guidance exists to guide their systematic involvement within the broader disaster response system. In October 2013, large bushfires swept through the NSW Blue Mountains. The response was unusual in its inclusion of NSW general practice networks within the response system, most crucially the local (now) Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN).

The lessons learned by GPs and NBMPHN during the fires highlighted the need for GP preparedness to improve recovery outcomes. This led to the development of a living discussion document “Emergency management: the role of the GP,” created with input from the various GP groups. More recently, a PHN emergency preparedness guide aimed at strengthening communication and formalizing the role of the PHNs and GPs before, during, and after a natural disaster.

Clarity and implementation of a process for disaster preparedness have enabled a more proactive and coordinated approach to local emergency management with a distinct role for both the PHN and local GPs when responding to a natural disaster.

This presentation discusses lessons learned and the preparedness strategy now in place in the Nepean Blue Mountains PHN region, and launches the emergency preparedness guide that can be used and adapted by GPs and other PHNs across Australia.