Results at a Glance - Evaluation of Emergency Preparedness and Response Activities

Introduction

• The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is responsible for public health emergency management governance, emergency management plans, exercise and training, operations centres, and field mobilizations, as well as lessons learned and risk and capability assessments for PHAC and Health Canada.
• The goal of these activities is to ensure that Canada will be able to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, and respond to public health events and emergencies, as well as for mass gathering and high-profile events.

What the evaluation found

• There is a need for these activities, as there continues to be both biological (e.g., influenza) and other types of events, such as natural disasters (e.g., floods, fires), mass gatherings (e.g., world summits, sporting events), accidental events (e.g., train derailment), and intentional events (e.g., terrorism) which could have impacts on the health and safety of Canadians. Globalization and climate change are factors that could potentially increase the likelihood of these events occurring in the future.
• Responsibility for preparing for and responding to emergencies in Canada is shared by the Government of Canada, provincial and territorial governments, and municipal governments – these roles are clearly understood by all players.
• Over the past five years, PHAC’s emergency operations centres were responsible for responding to 24 different events, which ranged from eight days (H1N1v) to 614 days (Ebola). Partners (provinces and territories, as well as other government departments) appreciated PHAC’s ability to respond to these events, which often included providing support to provinces and territories when required.
• PHAC has an effective system to help Canadians when presented with emergencies that threaten public health. However, the necessary focus on response to public health events has impacted progress in other areas. Improved efficiency could help enhance PHAC’s position to undertake large or protracted events in the future.

Recommendations and responses

1. Promote a whole of Portfolio^Footnote 1 engagement approach to support emergency preparedness and response.
   Response: PHAC will continue to increase awareness of the roles and responsibilities in preparing for and responding to events and emergencies that pose a risk to the health of Canadians.
2. Implement the mobilization strategy.
   Response: PHAC will develop an implementation plan for the mobilization strategy, with key activities and milestones.
3. Review relevant plans, protocols, and governance documents to ensure clarity in roles and feasibility of responsibilities for emergency preparedness functions.
   Response: PHAC will review and update the Health Portfolio Emergency Response Plan and develop Incident Management System (IMS) guidance to outline necessary information for internal decision-making and ensure appropriate documentation and sharing of decisions and actions.
4. Implement and maintain an All-Hazards Risk and Capability Assessment process.
   Response: PHAC will implement the All-Hazards Risk and Capability Assessment process, including an annual workshop with emergency management, technical and subject matter experts focussing on an initial set of identified risks and identification of available Health Portfolio capabilities
5. Ensure lessons-learned reviews for events and exercises are undertaken in a timely fashion and proportionate to the complexity and size of the public health event or exercise
   Response: PHAC will undertake a review of the revised lessons-learned process to validate its appropriateness and resources required to consistently undertake timely reviews of Health Portfolio responses and exercises.
6. Ensure that the purpose of the respective IM and IT platforms is clear and addresses current and anticipated needs.
   Response: PHAC will map current emergency preparedness and response IM Systems to minimise the risk of duplication and increase opportunities to share timely, relevant, and complete data.

About this evaluation

The evaluation assessed the relevance and performance of Emergency Preparedness and Response Activities at the PHAC between 2012-13 and 2016–2017. The evaluation included a literature review, document and data review, and key informant interviews.