AUDITOR GENERAL--Special Report on Pandemic Preparedness

Considerable effort has gone into preparing the province for an influenza pandemic but much more needs to be done and quickly, Auditor General Jacques Lapointe said today, July 30.

"We hope this report instills a sense of urgency in government. It is not intended to be alarmist and there is no cause for alarm as long as government addresses these deficiencies," said Mr. Lapointe.

He said the province needs to ensure it is ready with a well co-ordinated, effective response to a serious and widespread outbreak of H1N1 (human swine influenza) that many health officials are predicting.

In a special report to the legislature, the auditor general made 33 recommendations to better prepare the province to deal with a severe influenza pandemic.

"The report is being released now, months ahead of schedule, because we believe that if the recommended actions are taken now the province will significantly improve its ability to effectively meet the challenges of the pandemic."

He said there is, at present, no clear overall executive leadership in place to exercise command, control and co-ordination of the government's pandemic response efforts. That was a gap identified as a problem in the response to the SARS outbreak in Toronto.

"Executive Council should decide who will assume this leadership role."

He said the Emergency Management Office needs to be more active in ensuring government departments and agencies have emergency plans in place and should encourage key partners such as utilities and municipalities to be prepared. The Departments of Health, and Health Protection and Promotion must also take a role in ensuring district health authority pandemic plans are adequate and consistent.

"In a number of areas, preparation for a serious pandemic requires strengthening. Most critically, the province has not taken steps to ensure it has a satisfactory stockpile of medical and other supplies needed to meet the expected pandemic demands."

Mr. Lapointe reported that a survey of medical practitioners since the H1N1 virus outbreak began found 82 per cent were satisfied with the initial response, but 55 per cent cited access to supplies as an issue.

The full report is available on the auditor general's web site at www.oag-ns.ca or by contacting the office at 902-424-5907 or <[email protected].>