Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary has publicly stated that Swine Flu is a greater threat to the UK than terrorism. As always a certain amount of perspective needs to be added around this statement. In the National Risk Register, published by the Cabinet Office, the likelhood of an attack on transport, crowded places or via an electronic means is actually higher than that of pandemic influenza. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘business continuity’
Swine Flu: A greater threat than terrorism?
Monday, July 20th, 2009Swine Flu: Will your organisation survive?
Friday, July 17th, 200965,000 deaths due to swine flu. That is the assumption which Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson is working upon as reported in the press today, which could equate to 350 deaths per day. It is expected that around a third of the UK population will contract the virus and around 10% of the working population will be absent at any one time. Young, seemilgly healthy children are dying, the latest victim being a six year old boy from Kent. If ever there was a time to start panicking, surely it is now? (more…)
Swine Flu Pandemic: Would Your Employees Take Advantage?
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009In the Daily Telegraph on the 11th July Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent, reported that ministers are considering allowing workers to take two weeks off work without a sick note in a bid to minimise the spread of the swine flu (H1N1) virus. (more…)
Swine Flu claims its 17th UK victim and even knocks at the PM’s door
Monday, July 13th, 2009On a day when it is revealed that the swine flu vaccine will be available for the whole of the UK population, the illness also claims two more victims, a six year old girl, and a GP from Bedfordshire as reported on sky news. In addition the flu has also reached 10 Downing Street where an Aide has the infection. (more…)
How long will it take to re-connect your telephones in an emergency?
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Few people realise that the most vulnerable cables within their telephone circuits are those situated between the local serving exchange and their offices. Known as ‘the last mile’ these cables are often situated only 15cm beneath the road and are at genuine risk from road works and facility maintenance. In addition many telephone switches are situated within the basement of office buildings, quite literally sitting beneath main water pipes serving the offices. (more…)
Flash floods again in Kinross, Perth and North East Fife
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Last night as I drove home the heavens opened and our village was deluged with rain, though luckily the drain system in our area is able to cope. Further north in Scotland, they were less fortunate when torrential rain prompted over 50 calls to Tayside’s Fire and Rescue service. (more…)
World Health Organisation on brink of declaring global pandemic
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
The H1N1 swine flu virus has spread to 74 countries, with a sharp increase in reported cases in Australia. The UN have called an emergency meeting to discuss the imapct of an imminent declaration by the World Health Organisation to raise the level from 5 to 6, which would see the world in its first global pandemic since 1968. A pandemic which killed around one million people. The disease is classed as a pandemic when it has spread from human to human when widespread within two regions of the world. If a pandemic is declared, governments could quite quickly call for travel bans and school closures, a move which could in theory start bringing organisations to a standstill. (more…)
