This is just a courtesy email due to a few points shared with us around the potential for power outages early in the year:
- Shortly before Christmas we became aware of the risk of national power outages (from both the national Heads of Primary Care call and the ICB Medical Director)
- We do not have an understanding of the likelihood of this risk materialising
- We however understood that it was most likely to occur early in the new year and may involve geographical rolling 3 hour outages
- There is now speculation that the risk may have diminished
- We were expecting a national NHSE request to ensure that robust contingency plans were in place (again from the national Heads of Primary Care call)
If contingency plans are asked to be in place across optometry for such outages, the LOC is recommending now that contractors ensure they have business continuity plans in place and all staff are aware of the plans.
