A new hospital security risk assessment and security plan gave a major tertiary hospital in Queensland a current view of its risk profile and a prioritised roadmap for treatment.
THE CHALLENGE
A major tertiary hospital in Queensland needed to update its security framework to reflect a changing threat environment and contemporary standards. Its existing security threat and risk assessment, completed some years earlier by Agilient, no longer reflected the hospital’s size, patient activity or ongoing capital works. The new assessment had to cover the full complexity of a modern health care facility, well beyond standard physical security, and be reviewed against AS 4485, Queensland Health guidelines and considerations under the SOCI Act. Leadership wanted particular attention on vulnerability to hostile vehicles, lockdown arrangements for major incidents such as an armed offender, security response to hospital emergency codes, and the resilience and protective equipment of front-line security officers.
OUR APPROACH
Agilient applied its five-stage method of planning, stakeholder consultation, site assessment, risk analysis and reporting, drawing on its knowledge of the hospital from the earlier engagement. The work began with a review of existing security documentation, policies and procedures. Consultants then carried out site assessments during both day and night to see how controls performed under different operating conditions. Consultation covered security management, clinical teams working in higher-risk areas and facilities personnel. Risk assessment followed AS ISO 31000:2018 and SA HB 167, and included critical asset identification and threat actor profiling. Agilient evaluated the effectiveness of existing controls, from video surveillance and access control to guarding arrangements and incident response procedures, producing a Security Threat Assessment and a Risk Control Effectiveness evaluation that formed the evidence base for the final documents.
THE OUTCOME
Hospital leadership received a clear, evidence-based understanding of its security risk profile and a practical plan to act on it.
- A new Security Threat and Risk Assessment, supported by a Security Threat Assessment and a Risk Control Effectiveness evaluation
- A Security Plan translating the findings into a prioritised roadmap of risk treatments
- Assessment of hostile vehicle risk, lockdown procedures, emergency code response and front-line officer protection
Related services: security risk assessment consultants, protective security and PSPF consulting, physical security consultant. Sector experience: healthcare security consultants and critical infrastructure security consultant. To discuss a similar project, contact Agilient.