Pandemic Preparedness Measures In Canada … so How did Canada fare during the H1N1 influenza pandemic? What plans worked and what didn’t – and why not? What more needs to be done given the threat of future, potentially more serious pandemics? These were some of the questions CSA Standards (CSA) sought to answer when hosting a national Roundtable on Healthcare and Emergency Service Sector Pandemic Preparedness. A comprehensive white paper from the roundtable was released today at the World Conference on Disaster Management.
Participants concluded that the 2006 Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan (with updates since) was a positive step toward mitigating serious illness and deaths during the mild H1N1 influenza pandemic outbreak.
However, CSA roundtable participants also concluded there were some gaps and inconsistencies in protection during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and changes to existing pandemic plans now need to be made in the event of future more moderate or severe influenza pandemics. Roundtable participants included senior representatives from Canada’s healthcare and emergency service sectors such as infectious disease, family medicine, first responders, nursing, and hospital / healthcare administration. Check out CSA for more info.