My Department and the health services generally operate within the context of a Government approved framework for a co-ordinated response to major emergencies. The purpose of the framework is to establish common procedures in each of the frontline emergency services for activating emergency plans and co-ordination, control and co-operation during peacetime emergencies.
The Eastern Regional Health Authority, ERHA, and each of the health boards has an emergency plan which is based on this framework and which is kept under constant review. The main aim of the plans is to ensure that the health service is in a position to mobilise all necessary and available resources and to utilise these to best advantage so that the resulting response will be appropriate, structured, co-ordinated and effectively managed. The emergency plan can be activated by the ambulance service, fire service or the Garda.
Each health board or health authority has out-of-hours contact details for a number of officials in my Department for use in the event of a major emergency. These officials are not on a roster and are not paid any additional remuneration for carrying out this function.
