To assess the preparedness of hospitals with respect to protecting health care workers (HCWs) during a pandemic.

A self-administered questionnaire was performed between November 2009 and January 2010, and a scoring system was developed to provide a quantifiable measure of preparedness.

A total of 12 hospitals in NSW, Australia, were approached – six regional hospitals (RHs) and six tertiary referral centres (TRCs). The study was extended to assess three hospitals in England, allowing a limited comparison between the hospitals in Australia that had faced the initial wave of the H1N1 (“swine flu”) pandemic and the hospitals in the UK that had more time to prepare for the outbreak. Response rates were 66% from the TRCs, 33% from the RHs, and 100% from the English hospitals. The overall preparedness scores were relatively high, with a median TOTAL score (adjusted) of 50.75 out of 70. The demographic that scored the highest Total was tertiary referral centres in Sydney. All English hospitals scored below the median. However, the range of scores across hospitals was quite narrow (45.1 – 57.1 adjusted). Scores were generally high for the areas of Preparedness, Infection control, Education and Training. Scores for Vaccination were more variable. The category that consistently demonstrated the lowest scores was that of Psychosocial Welfare and Assistance, despite this being found in previous research to be an integral part of that which HCWs have identified as important.

Given their integral role in pandemic response, protecting HCWs must be a priority as part of any pandemic preparedness plan. This goes beyond protection from infection, extending into aspects of physical and psychological wellbeing. Identifying these issues and addressing them is the key to maximising staff support and morale, and minimising staff absenteeism at such a crucial time.