Business Continuity Plan

1. Purpose

This plan sets out how ExcelCare Agency will maintain essential care and meet the needs of the people we support during a disruption. Because our service is delivered in people's homes by individual carers, a lost rota, a snowstorm or a single unplanned absence can put a person at risk within hours.

The plan applies to every part of the service, including out-of-hours arrangements.

2. Critical functions and priorities

In any disruption, we protect functions in this order:

1. Life-sustaining and time-critical care — medicines, moving and assisting, continence and pressure care, nutrition and hydration, and anyone assessed as high risk.
2. Safeguarding — identifying and responding to increased risk during the incident.
3. Communication with people we support and their families.
4. Communication with commissioners, the local authority and CQC.
5. Record keeping and evidence of care delivered.
6. Business administration, payroll and invoicing.

3. Identifying the people most at risk

We maintain a live list of people whose care cannot safely be missed, including those who receive:

• insulin or time-critical medicines
• two-carer moving and assisting
• support with eating and drinking
• catheter, stoma or PEG care delegated by a community nurse
• end of life or rapid-response support

This list is reviewed monthly and is available in hard copy in the office and in the emergency grab bag.

4. Types of disruption and response

Staff shortage

• The duty manager contacts all available bank staff, then approved agency partners.
• Visits are reprioritised: critical visits are covered first and non-essential tasks deferred with the person's agreement.
• Senior carers and managers deliver care where needed.
• Where a visit cannot be covered, the person and their family are telephoned immediately and alternatives agreed; the missed visit is recorded and reported.

Severe weather and travel disruption

• Staff are contacted by 6:30am and routes are reallocated to the nearest available worker.
• Vulnerable people receive a welfare telephone call where a visit cannot be made.
• Local resilience forum guidance is followed, and a 4x4 or community volunteer arrangement is used where it is safe to do so.

Loss of premises or utilities

• Where the office is inaccessible, the duty manager operates from home using the emergency contact list and mobile access to the rostering system.
• Where a person's home loses heating, water or power, we contact the utility provider, the local authority and the family, and consider emergency accommodation with the person's consent.

IT, telephony or cyber incident

• Care continues on paper using the printed emergency visit sheets, and records are transcribed into the electronic system once service is restored.
• Data backups are held securely and tested quarterly.
• A suspected cyber incident is reported to the Business Continuity Lead immediately and to the Information Commissioner within 72 hours where personal data is affected.

Loss of key people

• Every critical role has a named deputy with access to the systems and information needed.
• The Registered Manager's responsibilities transfer to the nominated deputy, who informs CQC of any change in management.

Pandemic or infectious disease outbreak

Our Infection Prevention & Control Policy applies, with staffing contingency for higher absence and cohorting of visits to affected homes.

5. Activation and command

The Business Continuity Lead declares an activation when a disruption is likely to affect care for more than four hours. The Lead:

1. opens the incident log and records decisions with times
2. activates the call tree within one hour
3. briefs the Board and, where relevant, the local authority and commissioners
4. notifies CQC under Regulation 18 where the incident affects the safe delivery of care
5. stands the plan down formally and chairs a debrief within ten working days

6. Communication

• Internal: a WhatsApp-free cascade using the staff call tree, plus a recorded message on the office line.
• People we support and families: telephone calls to those affected, prioritising the at-risk list.
• External: local authority adult social care emergency duty team, commissioners, CQC, and utility or emergency services as needed.

7. Emergency resources

The office holds an emergency grab bag containing printed rotas, the at-risk client list, contact details for all staff and people supported, paper visit record forms, torches, a charged power bank, first aid supplies and spare PPE. Contents are checked quarterly and after every use.

8. Recovery

Normal service resumes when critical functions are stable. The Lead confirms that all deferred visits are rescheduled, records are complete, the at-risk list is current and any missed care has been reported and followed up.

9. Testing and review

• A tabletop exercise is run annually, involving the management team and a sample of senior carers.
• The plan is reviewed after every activation and annually by the Board.
• Contact details are verified every three months.