Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza

B1. What will guide the use of our key resources

Five key elements provide the strategic approach for the health sector when responding to an influenza pandemic:

• Strategic Framework—which outlines the goal and objectives for the health sector’s preparedness and response. These goals and objectives will apply throughout Australia to ensure that the different parts of the health system are working together to achieve the same outcomes. Having clear health sector goals and objectives means other sectors (for example, transport and power) know what the health sector is trying to achieve and where joint action could help achieve desired outcomes.
• Phase Description—of the likely different phases a pandemic could go through in Australia. The phases describes which stage of the pandemic Australia is at, and assist in determining broadly the types of actions that would be most appropriate at that time, as well as the actions required for planning in anticipation of the next phase.
• Ethical Framework—that provides guidance on standards that would be expected during a pandemic to guide responses, as well as a means of identifying ahead of time areas where decision-making could be complex.
• Legal Framework—under which pandemic preparedness and response must operate.
• Flexible Policy—that takes into account differing levels of severity and the availability of resources, with a focus on prioritising health care delivery so that life-saving services are maintained.

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This information is current for 03 September, 2010
This information was issued on 05 December, 2008