Employers gear up for pandemic threat

Employers of NHS staff and other key workers are gearing up for the threat of a swine flu pandemic, with plans to bolster the workforce at short notice.“Some of the approaches we’ve taken are identifying retired staff to see whether they are available and identifying those with unused clinical qualifications to see about updating them,” said Cheryl Clements, HR director of Medway Primary Care Trust. She said contingency plans had been in place for a couple of years and were part of the health service’s strategy to cover absences and provide extra staff in the event of a pandemic.