The Victorian State Government, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is providing fully subsidised access to the ERPT for rural and regional Victorian general practices in 2019

March 15, 2019

The Victorian State Government, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is funding a program to provide fully subsidised access to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) online emergency response planning tool (ERPT) for rural and regional Victorian general practices in 2019.

DHHS recognises the important role of general practices in providing essential health services to local communities and understands that maintaining an up-to-date emergency response plan is crucial in ensuring continuity of service during emergency events.

In 2019 the program will focus on rural and regional general practices in recognition of the important services they provide and their heightened exposure to extreme weather events.

Each participating general practice will receive fully subsidised access to the ERPT in 2019 and support from Healthpoint ANZ to start planning and complete an emergency response plan. This includes online webinars, personalised training and access to a help desk.

Australia overall experiences a range of emergency events like ‘natural disasters’ including bushfires, floods, severe storms, earthquakes and landslides. These events cause great financial hardship for individuals and communities, and can result in loss of life. There are also more localised events such as power outages, loss of systems, loss of premises or even intruders to think about.