A lesson in crisis management
Liam Donaldson has had a busy week. The UK’s chief medical officer has been appearing on television stations nationwide, giving lots of interviews and visiting Downing Street in an effort to reassure the public that the UK is well prepared for arrival of swine-flu. And in my opinion, he’s been doing a good job as a spokesperson.
Crisis management requires a swift response and the UK authorities have been prompt in their reassurance that drugs are stockpiled, vaccines are being prepared and facemasks are on order. I was particularly impressed with Donaldson’s BBC news interview as the severity of the outbreak became clear; he was calm, confident, concise, offered only facts and described the response and defence in an understandable way.
Crises, by their very nature, happen suddenly and unexpectedly, and allow little time for planning and research. It’s clear though, that the UK government are prepared for this and have been researching the possibilities for a number of years. In fact, although it wasn’t particularly reassuring, one commentator on Channel 4 news stated, “The world is overdue a flu pandemic.”
It has also been interesting to watch the technological responses to the crisis, in comparison to some of the distinctly practical responses. As scientists work overtime developing an effective vaccine, the government is preparing leaflets and facemasks. Who’d have thought, in this day and age of rapid and instant digital communication, leafleting every home in the country is still deemed the best way of reaching everybody?
- 
- 
- 
-
April 29th, 2009 at 11:47 am
I think a quick response is the nitty-gritty in a crisis. But also providing as much information as possible first hand. The decision about the leaflets is really interesting. I could imagine that those still have a great power regarding reliance. Information can spread easily in the internet and the sources may be unsure sometimes. That’s why I think it’s a good choice and secures that everybody – if internet savvy or not – gets the information when it’s time and can be secure about the sender.
May 8th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Donaldson did a very good job indeed, I agree with you Michelle. In my opinion his behaviour was very important, given that random tabloids went completely crazy with horrifying the people.
I also agree with Laura and think that in such a time leaflets are definitely more reassuring than any sort of digital media, as it still appears to be more trustworthy to the wide mass.
May 11th, 2009 at 6:34 am
If you want to reach every home owner in the UK , leafleting seems like the logical option.
I don’t think the biggest issue is trusting the source, although that comes into it, its just that not everyone uses the web as their primary source of news and information. Generally, the ones that do are information seekers and will find out anyway.
The best way to reach those that don’t is to force it under their nose.