Implementing business continuity effectively within the UK National Health Service

Patrick Roberts, Director and Helen Molyneux, Director, Cambridge Risk Solutions

Abstract
Whereas major incident planning is very well established within National Health Service (NHS) organisations in the UK, business continuity management (BCM) planning, in many cases, is a relatively new activity; however, a combination of factors including the emergence of H1N1 influenza, has led to growing interest in the subject. This paper draws on both the personal experience of the authors and published research in relevant fields to make a number of specific recommendations about the effective implementation of BCM within NHS organisations. These include the need to define the BCM project properly; conduct a thorough business impact analysis considering ‘back office’ as well as clinical activities; define suitable command and control arrangements with clear delegated authority; and support plan development with appropriate training.

Keywords
business continuity management (BCM), major incident planning, NHS, healthcare

Patrick Roberts is a director of Cambridge Risk Solutions Ltd, a specialist business continuity consultancy focusing on the small business and healthcare sectors. Patrick has worked in business continuity and security consultancy since 2003 when he joined Olive Security, one of the UK’s leading security consultancies. He subsequently spent three years as a senior consultant at Needhams 1834 Ltd where he provided business continuity consultancy and training for a wide range of blue-chip companies and public sector organisations.

Helen Molyneux is a director of Cambridge Risk Solutions Ltd, a specialist business continuity consultancy focusing on the small business and healthcare sectors. Helen has worked continuously in business continuity management and emergency planning since 2001 when she became an emergency planning officer in North Yorkshire. She gained further valuable experience in an emergency planning role for a London borough before joining the business continuity management team within Wealth Management at Barclays Bank. Her most recent role prior to setting up Cambridge Risk Solutions was as a manager in the IT security division of Accenture.

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