This press release issued by the European Commission outlines and shares the lessons learned from a two-day “tabletop” simulation called Common Ground, which was carried out November 23-24 2005. The exercise aimed to test how national preparedness plans would work together in the event of an influenza pandemic, as well as testing co-ordination and communication between the Commission, Member States, European Union agencies, international organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. An evaluation report prepared by the United Kingdom based Health Protection Agency sets out recommendations to follow-up, particularly reviewing and developing communications systems.



Key findings and recommendations of the report

• Considerable improvements were made with respect to an earlier, smaller scale simulation exercise, reflecting the willingness of the Commission and Member States to make improvements where necessary;
• All participants identified the need for similar exercises in the future which should include the lessons learned from previous exercises;
• There were some obvious examples of coordination efforts by the Commission and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) during the exercise, particularly the holding of audio conferences which helped immediate issues. The ECDC set up a web site and the Commission provided reporting forms;
• The Commission’s Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) should be reviewed and enhanced, and a system to improve the collection of information and situational awareness should be developed;
• Back-up communications facilities should be considered, and teleconferencing facilities in some Member States should be improved;
• Some national pandemic influenza plans did not sufficiently consider international aspects and certain operational issues beyond the health field, and these issues should be further considered;
• The Commission should consider further developing its generic plan taking into account the international dimension of national plans to include a checklist of appropriate measures applicable to each phase of a pandemic;
• Coordination and sharing of media messages in a crisis should be strengthened and a network of media contacts in national ministries should be established; and
• Issues of common concern which need further consideration include antivirals, vaccines, travel restrictions, quarantining and border closures.

According to the press release, following the Common Ground exercise the Commission has begun a number of initiatives which respond to several of the report’s findings. This includes working on the enhancement of its crisis-management tools and setting up an interdepartmental crisis coordination unit. The Commission and ECDC are now coordinating a network of Member States’ press officers, in order to ensure the communication of clear and accurate messages to the public throughout Europe. Workshops to share best practice on issues such as public health interventions, business continuity planning, border controls and quarantine will be held and the Commission will start improving the coordination mechanism through training and role play between involved bodies and plans to run further exercises.