When the Unexpected Happens: How Social Care Providers Can Respond to Service Disruption

It’s not about whether disruption will happen — it’s about how you respond.

Commissioners want to know that you’re prepared for the unexpected. Whether it’s a fire alarm, a system outage, or an unplanned staff absence, your ability to respond swiftly, safely, and effectively matters — for the people you support and for the success of your tenders.

🚨 What Counts as Service Disruption?

• Power or utility failure
• IT systems crash or access issue
• Transport breakdowns affecting community visits
• Staff sickness affecting cover
• Severe weather, strikes, or road closures

In tenders, this usually comes under questions about business continuity or risk management — but your answer needs to zoom in on how you handle disruption in real time.

🔧 What to Include in Your Tender Response

• Detection: How staff escalate issues quickly to the right person
• Action: Immediate steps to minimise disruption (e.g. activating call-out lists)
• Recovery: Timescales, communication with stakeholders, temporary solutions
• Learning: Debriefs, changes to protocol, or updates to training