COVID-19

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health emergency. We’re taking strict protective measures across Cogent Thinking in response to this disease to reduce the risk of transmission among our team, our customers and the communities where we work. We also stay up-to-date with information on restrictions and essential and non-essential business activity, and regularly review directions from the relevant authorities in each state and territory and nationally.

Pandemic plan

We have a comprehensive pandemic plan so that we can quickly and efficiently respond to this health risk for the safety of our team members, clients, customers, contractors and visitors.

Our pandemic plan supports the following measures:

• Controlled entry to our workplaces
• Stringent screening processes
• A dedicated 24/7 incident hotline
• Isolation practices
• Telecommuting
• Service delivery continuity
• Office cleaning protocols
• Personal protective equipment
• Indirect risk management procedures

Pandemic Hotline

The hotline was established in March to provide instant advice to our team members regarding certain scenarios, such as:

• A customer or client presenting at an office with cold or flu symptoms
• A team member experiencing cold or flu symptoms
• A member of a team member’s family or household having cold or flu symptoms
• A team member is being tested for COVID-19
• A team member arriving back from holiday or travel

The helpline is delivered by experts in healthcare triage and has access to medical specialists if required for specific advice. Workflows and automatic notifications are in place to ensure that high risk incidents are escalated to the COVID-19 response team for further action.

Pandemic Response Team

Our response team, established by our parent company MedHealth, is responsible for the implementation of our pandemic plan. At Cogent Thinking we also have a COVID-19 key contact who is responsible for implementing all protocols, disseminating important information to staff, and to serve as a point of contact.

The pandemic plan is regularly reviewed to ensure it aligns with best practice pandemic management.

Our pandemic plan also applies the following principles:

• Risks are proactively identified, managed and mitigated
• Plans are flexible and proportionate, and can be scaled up or down as required
• Continuity and quality of service delivery must be maximised wherever possible
• Collaboration with our customers in executing risk management strategies