The most effective antidote to avian flu is Tamiflu. It is available from Doctorcall at £50 per dose. To purchase supplies or for more information, call Peter Mills on 0844 264 0421.
What would happen to business?
Without any counter-measures any organisation could find from 15-50% of its staff in any department absent at the same time.
At the lower level, this might be tolerable in departments performing simple routine tasks. But where senior executives and key workers are absent in numbers, the impact would be very damaging.
If you already have a crisis management programme, you will have identified key personnel and processes and will have plans for keeping things going – you need to include a flu pandemic in your contingency planning.
What is unusual – perhaps unique about a flu pandemic – is the impact on an organisation of outside factors like transport failure, school closures, problems with the banking network and so on.
In addition, many staff who are themselves unaffected or have recovered from illness would have to take time off to attend to sick family members – partners, children, elderly parents.
There would be a huge impact on:
- Productivity
- Service delivery
- Product delivery
- Planning and decision-making
- Critical infrastructure
- IT and communications
- Finance
- Security
- Maintenance
- And much more
Another major problem would be that other organisations would be affected and if you are dependent on them you could experience problems even if your own precautions mean you have minimised the effect on your own organisation.
For example, you might not receive supplies you need. Your carriers might be unable to deliver your products. It is very much in your interests to ensure that any other company in your supply or delivery chain also takes precautions.
All in all, you could find it very difficult or impossible to meet deadlines or obligations of many kinds – again, if you have a Crisis Management plan in place you will know your legal position on this and should know whether contracts or insurance cover has been written to take account of the problems a pandemic could bring. If not, you would be wise to check.
At this point you may be tempted to throw up your hands and do nothing. But the fact is, an ostrich-like attitude would leave you much worse off than planning for a pandemic and taking the best precautions you can. Should an epidemic then strike you will be extremely glad you have done the sensible things.
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