What is Code Silver?
What is Code Silver?
Code Silver will be called in the event of a sys-tems failure. These systems can include electric-ity, water, vacuum, medical gases, suction, eleva-tors or computer systems.
Many of these systems (e.g. water) are located in one facility, but with the increase of computer sys-tems in use throughout PHC, some Code Silvers may affect multiple sites at the same time.
Sequence of Events
The Call Centre is notified regarding the system that is down. They will then notify the Incident Commander (who is the Clinical Coordinator, the Site/Ops Leader or designate until relieved by the Leader On-Call).
The notification is then sent out from the Call Centre via the P.A. with the name of the service and location (e.g. "Code Silver - Suction - Area)".
Roles
Incident Commander - Notify the Leader On-Call and Senior Leader On-Call; establish the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) as required; request briefings from Security Leader, Physical Plant, and Nursing as required.
Call Centre - Contact Incident Commander; Leader On-Call; Physical Plant; Emergency Pre-paredness and Communications. Continue paging at intervals.
Staff - Follow EPP procedures for the system that is down. See procedure guides on PHC Connect. Depending on the situation, you may need to re-port back to your work area, check on pa-tients/residents to assess the situation and/or report problems to the EOC.
Security - Follow EPP procedures for the system that is down. See procedure guides on PHC Con-nect.
Depending on the type and degree of the system failure, other groups may need to play a role (e.g. IMIS, Shift Engineers).
What improvements have been made to this process over this last year?
After a number of major computer system out-ages, IMIS will be working with each area to re-fine the downtime procedures for each system.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee is also reviewing each system and putting in place plans to test the response for each area.
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers
Q. How does Code Silver affect me?
A. Depending on which system has failed, it might affect the care that you provide.
Q. What if the computers are down? How can I access the Code Silver Procedures Guide on PHC Connect?
A. In case of computer server failure, updated hard copies of the Emergency Preparedness Plan are kept in the Emergency Operations Centre.
Where do I find more information on Code Silver?
The above listed actions are just a general guide. For more detailed information, please see the Emergency Preparedness Plan on PHC Connect at:
PHC - Emergency Preparedness Plan