A shortage of road fuel may be the result of several different risks, for example, severe weather, damage to fuel infrastructure or supply lines and industrial action by tanker drivers or refinery staff. In 2000 British farmers and truck drivers launched a campaign of direct action to protest against fuel duty. This led to blockades of fuel refineries and distribution depots with serious knock-on effects at petrol stations.
The effects of a fuel shortage on the trust are likely to increase in impact as the duration of a shortage increases. The trust delivers a large number of services in the community and relies on staff using their own transport to get to and from work. However, a large proportion of non-patient facing staff are now agile workers and able to work from home. This may reduce the impact on some services. However, there is likely to be an impact on patient facing staff and patients who are unable to attend clinics.
A prolonged disruption to fuel supplies without the activation of the national emergency plan for fuel (NEP-F) presents a greater risk to the trust as it would be forced to rely on business continuity plans without the mitigations provided by the NEP-F.
The trust emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) risk register assigns the risk of fuel shortage as high impact and medium likelihood.
The NHS England core standards for emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) state that trusts must have plans in place to mitigate the effects of a road fuel shortage.
This plan sets out the trust response to a road fuel shortage in order to minimise its impacts where possible.
To access the policy, please visit road fuel emergency plan (staff access only) (opens in new window) on the intranet.
Page last reviewed: January 17, 2025
Next review due: January 17, 2026
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