Website of the Department of Health

5.1 The UK Pandemic Influenza Contingency Plan

The UK was one of the first European countries to have a pandemic flu contingency plan in place. It set out specific measures and actions required from health and other government departments and organisations at national and local levels to support an effective response to a flu pandemic.

Replacing the Multiphase Contingency Plan for Pandemic Influenza published in 1997, the current plan has been updated to take account of new scientific developments, changes in the health service, lessons learned from the 1997 outbreak of avian flu in Hong Kong and from the 2003 SARS outbreak and experience in emergency planning since the events of 11 September 2001.

The UK Plan has been developed in accordance with international recommendations issued by WHO and adapted to meet national needs. Its overall objective is to minimise the impact of a flu pandemic on the UK population. Key elements are:

An integrated international, national and local response

The UK plan provides the overall framework for a UK-wide response and covers the national health response. Contingency plans also need to be developed at the local level. Primary care trusts and strategic health authorities, for example, (and their equivalents in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) are responsible for developing their own contingency plans, ensuring local needs are met while remaining integrated in the national and international response.

A collaborative multi-agency response

Responding to a pandemic involves co-ordinating the contributions of many different organisations, not just those relating to health. All organisations involved in preparing for and responding to a flu pandemic in the UK are expected to produce their own specific contingency plans, using the UK plan as their key guidance tool. It is hoped that this will ensure a coherent national response across all sectors.

A flexible response

There is much uncertainty associated with the next pandemic: the scale and severity of illness, which groups will be worst affected and the efficacy and availability of antivirals and vaccines. The UK Plan is therefore flexible, enabling us to adapt our response as this new information emerges.

5.2 How does the plan work?

5.2.1 A phased response

5.2.1 A phased response

The World Health Organization has defined a series of phases in the progression of a flu pandemic which have been incorporated into the UK plan. These are currently under review and the new categories will be included in the UK plan. The principles remain the same. The phases cover the progression of a flu pandemic from the first emergence of a novel virus to its worldwide spread. Each phase will be announced by the World Health Organization and will dictate specific actions at the national level.

The phases are grouped into three periods:

UK alert levels

The UK plan also incorporates a four-step UK alert mechanism which allows actions within the UK to be related to specific UK rather than international activity:

Alert level
0: No cases anywhere in the world
1: Cases only outside the UK
2: New virus isolated in the UK
3: Outbreak(s) in the UK
4: Widespread activity across the UK

5.2.2 Signalling the start of a pandemic and the activation of contingency plans

5.2.2 Signalling the start of a pandemic and the activation of contingency plans

The UK plan, along with other national contingency plans, will be activated at the close of the Interpandemic Period when The World Health Organization confirms evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission and the onset of the pandemic.

5.2.3 What happens next?

5.2.3 What happens next?

1. The Department of Health for England, which has overall responsibility for developing and maintaining the UKs contingency plans and for co-ordinating the health response across the UK, will inform the other UK health departments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the Civil Contingencies Secretariat.

2. The UK National Influenza Pandemic Committee will be convened as the pandemic potential of a virus has been confirmed. This will advise all UK health departments on the health response in the UK.

3. The Civil Contingencies Secretariat will provide the focal point for UK wider strategy and co-ordinate the response across all government departments.

4. The Chief Medical Officer will rapidly alert the NHS via strategic health authorities and Regional Directors of Public Health who would implement the pandemic flu contingency  plan and mobilise primarycare trusts and front-line NHS services.

5.3 The public health response

The Department of Health for England leads on the development, purchase, supply and distribution of a vaccine for the UK in discussion with manufacturers and in liaison with the other UK departments of health.

The public health response will depend on whether:

5.3.1 The Health Protection Agency (HPA)

5.3.1 The Health Protection Agency (HPA)

The HPA is the lead agency responsible for advising and supporting the UK national public health response to major infectious disease incidents and outbreaks. It will co-ordinate its activities with the equivalent agencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It will play a key role in national surveillance, providing reference laboratory support, developing expert advice and guidance, research and gathering international data which will inform decisions such as choice of vaccine or antiviral strategy across the UK, as well as through its local and regional services supporting local public health responses.

5.3.2 The National Health Service

5.3.2 The National Health Service

In England, the National Heath Service (strategic health authorities, NHS foundation trusts, NHS trusts, NHS Direct) will use its own co-ordinated contingency plans to provide public health arrangements and information at the local level:

5.4 Keeping the public informed during the pandemic

5.4.1 How will people know what to do in a pandemic?

5.4.1 How will people know what to do in a pandemic?

Information and advice on how best to protect individual citizens and their families will be made widely available through information leaflets, websites and the media. Such advice will include when, where and how to seek medical assistance.

How will the UK respond to a flu pandemic?: Summary

• Influenza at the World Health Organisation (opens new window)
• Pandemic flu
• Health Protection Agency: Influenza (opens new window)