DO you have a disaster contingency plan, for some catastrophe that wipes out your practice premises and equipment?
Maybe you should, as I found out when I visited Paul Meiring’s Companion Care surgery in Chesterfield. On 26th June 2007 a trickle of water appeared under the back door as he was nearing the end of his operating list and by midnight his surgery was six feet deep in water and sewage, all stock and equipment ruined.
The whole area was badly hit by the summer floods, but Paul never expected anything of this severity. When water first appeared, sandbags were put in place as the last surgical procedure of the day was begun, but before long water was gushing between the door and doorframe at knee height. Soon after the operation was completed, the practice was hipdeep in water and staff had to carry animals out over their heads. Paul recalls how difficult it was to open the front door against the incoming flood.
As the water rose, equipment was lifted onto tables and lower cupboards were emptied. Staff did what they could and went home. When they came back in the morning it was to a scene of devastation. Overnight the water had risen to the tops of the doors. The pet food in the main store had absorbed water and burst its bags, and the whole building was ankle-deep in a slurry of pet food, water and sewage.
The smell was indescribable. Everything on the tables had been washed off, cupboards had come off the walls and all of the surgery’s equipment and files were covered in filth.
Files backed up
How on earth does a practice recover from this sort of catastrophe? The first blessing was that the computer files were backed up nightly and transmitted off site to the Companion Care support office. It was possible to access the appointment lists from
there and contact clients to cancel. For the next month, the practice ran entirely on house visits. Operations were postponed and anything urgent was taken to the Derby surgery where Paul is also a partner, 40 minutes’ drive away. In the meantime, the support staff were cleaning the premises: the contamination was such that around half of them developed diarrhoea.
After discussions with the insurance company, all of the equipment, stock and fittings were condemned: everything was contaminated with this provenpathogenic sludge. During this very difficult time, the Companion Care support office staff were invaluable, taking care of administration and organising repairs, leaving Paul and his staff to concentrate on salvaging what business they could.
The area operations manager, Alyssa Taylor, was particularly active on their behalf: it was she who found a semi-derelict Portakabin in the car park of the local RSPCA, persuaded them to let her use it and arranged to have it repaired and painted.
Phones were installed and the practice operated there from late July until its re-opening on 23rd November. Alyssa also organised mailshots to clients, letting them know what had happened and what arrangements had been made to ensure the practice could continue taking care of their pets.
The effect on business turnover was devastating. No booster reminders were sent out for the first month, and even once into the Portakabin the number of operations per day was halved and 5-10 calls were received daily requesting histories for departing clients.
On the up side, many clients proved extremely loyal and were happy to put up with the temporary inconvenience, recognising that the practice staff were doing all they could in circumstances beyond their control.
Negotiations
Companion Care support office staff took care of all negotiations with insurers and arranged for builders to strip and refit the premises and for new equipment to be sourced and delivered. The marketing department made sure that the re-opening received press attention, and there were leaflet drops to ensure that all local petowners knew that the practice was back in business.
Without all of this help, Paul is not sure that he could have faced the work involved and might have closed the practice. He is, however, delighted with his brand new surgery, as are his staff.
The old premises were due for refurbishment but now, not only is everything shiny and new, there is an extra consulting room, a better kennel layout enabling separation of cats and dogs, a new computer system, equipment has been upgraded and the décor has a new, modern look.
When I asked head nurse Caroline Ellis if the new premises were worth four months in a Portakabin, the answer was a big grin – she was sure it was.
Imagine your own practice in a similar situation, and with no help from a central support office: floods are becoming more common but fire or explosion could have a similar effect. A little time spent on contingency planning might be worthwhile.
