8 minute read
Small state with a big focus on well-being
How does an organisation break the stigma around mental health for first responders? Or ensure the well-being of staff isolated for months in Antarctica? How are the lessons from the Port Arthur massacre influencing current support services? Tasmania is leading practice in mental health and creating a cultural shift towards more positive well-being for first responders.
Above Good mental health and well-being is fundamental to the success of Antarctic expeditions.
ALANA BEITZ
AFAC
In 2017, the Tasmanian Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (DPFEM) saw an urgent need to take proactive action to protect its staff after a number of suicides in its ranks. In September 2019 it developed and launched MyPulse, a collection of health and well-being content and services offered to emergency personnel in Tasmania, tailored specifically to their unique needs and role in the community.
The program was awarded the Stewart & Heaton Leading Practice in Mental Health Award at the AFAC21 Conference. DPFEM’s prize included a masterclass event on a topic of its choice, which was held both online and in person on 11 May, at which it introduced the MyPulse program.
Over 9,200 emergency service responders and state service employees are involved in 13 different versions of MyPulse, aimed at different roles and support requirements.
The program offers well-being coaches, educational resources, mental and physical health literacy sessions, and health consultations designed for early intervention. It supports the health and well-being of emergency responders both on the job and in their personal lives, offering physical and mental health screenings.
During the masterclass, Sam Sneddon of Gallagher Bassett—the provider that developed the MyPulse program— explained how the screenings used a ‘traffic light’ rating system to identify participants who are doing well (green), who have some risks (amber), and who are at more significant risk (red).
“Our health coaches will reach out to a person within eight business hours for someone who rates as amber, or four business hours for someone who rates as red, recognising their level of severity based on how they’ve answered the questions,” he said.
“Although all of our coaches are clinically trained, we take people on a coaching pathway that is very much goal-oriented.”
Engagement is high, with 73% of participants who rate as red choosing to undergo coaching.
The MyPulse program’s library of education resources features a series of lived-experience videos from actual staff and volunteers in Tasmania’s emergency services sector, such as Tasmanian senior firefighter Nick Perry, who stepped back from a promotion due to the personal impact of his mother’s recent death. Matthew Richman, Director, Well-being Support at DPFEM explained how Mr Perry’s video is a sign of a social change among emergency responders.
“I’ve been around a fair while, and that’s almost unheard of in any organisation. For him to have the courage to put out a video and to make it available to everyone to see is just an incredible credit to him,” he said.
The collection of 20 lived-experience videos addresses a range of topics, including chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mr Richman observed that through staff and volunteer participation in MyPulse, DPFEM now has a clearer view of their well-being.
“We have a completely different lens into the Department now. It has given us an opportunity to identify things that were there to be seen, but we weren’t seeing,” he said.
“The coaches come to us with de-identified information and list some of the issues that are occurring within certain pockets of an organisation, or certain geographic regions, and that’s been incredibly beneficial.”
Tasmania Fire Service Chief Officer Dermot Barry is a MyPulse participant and is grateful for the impact it is having for the state’s first responders.
“We now know that each and every
incident we attend has an accumulative effect on us and this accumulation can be like the death of a thousand cuts,” Chief Officer Barry said.
“Fortunately, we have evolved now to where the hero culture is gone and seeking support is now considered routine and sensible. The focus has gone from treatment to prevention; in essence, putting this defence at the top of the cliff, rather than more ambulances at the bottom.”
Mental health in a harsh environment
For workers in Antarctica, many of the key factors to maintaining physical and mental health are impeded, with extreme daylight changes disrupting sleep patterns, reduced access to fresh food affecting diets, isolation from family and friends, and harsh weather interrupting outdoor access and exercise.
Organisational Psychologist for the Australian Antarctic Division Maree Riley discussed the support services available to expeditioners, the selection process before the journey south, and the importance of supporting expeditioners upon their return home.
With over 2,000 applications for 180 positions within the Australian Antarctic Division this year, people are interested in traveling to and working in Antarctica, but not everyone is suited to the role. Rigorous physical and psychological testing is done before expeditions to identify risk and protective factors for each applicant.
“As part of our preparation of expeditioners, we talk about the challenges—there are going to be bad days, tough times,” Dr Riley said. “It’s important to be flexible and adaptable because things change very quickly down south.”
Preparation involves expeditioners spending 24 hours in a hotel designed to replicate an Antarctic station with the crew they will live and work with. This is designed to see how the team interacts together before they are posted in Antarctica for anywhere between four to 15 months.
Each team develops their own team charter before the expedition to outline the behavioural expectations they have of themselves and each other. This gives the team ownership of how they are going to live and work as a community.
Before the expedition, there is psychological preparation around separation from family and friends, with support extended to the partners and children of expeditioners. Isolation from loved ones is one of the biggest challenges for people working in Antarctica, as is their reintegration to society after their deployment. Dr Riley said the Australian Antarctic Division introduced welcome home ceremonies to ease this process and boost morale.
“Not that long ago, expeditioners would feel that they came back from Antarctica and, because they are not ongoing employees, they get off the ship and feel they’ve been dumped by the organisation,” she said.
“We now have in place welcome home ceremonies to which we invite family, with welcome home pins, patches and memorabilia, and a member of the executive is there to thank the expeditioners and their families. That has been really beneficial.”
Past lessons to protect well-being
In December 2021, the Devonport community was shattered when six children died after wind gusts hit the Hillcrest Primary School’s end-of-year celebrations, sweeping a jumping castle and zorb balls into the air.
As first responders attended the scene, DPFEM quickly operationalised a response plan for staff well-being support, leveraging the Department’s existing Critical Incident Stress Management Program. Among the first responders, the event had caused devastation and disbelief.
Mr Richman and Wellbeing Support Officer and Critical Incident Stress Management Peer Anna Lang explained how DPFEM’s response plan for the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy was shaped by lessons from the Port Arthur massacre 26 years before.
“There were 685 emergency service responders involved in the Port Arthur response … think about how you’re going to manage that many people if you have an incident at that scale,” Mr Richman said.
“One of the things back then that had never crossed our mind was that we would lose our clinical consultant and other important managers on day one because of the stress of exposure to the scene.”
Ms Lang and Mr Richman delivered the response plan without visiting the Hillcrest Primary School scene and risking exposure to the incident. Ms Lang was stationed at a command centre in Devonport and Mr Richman remained in Hobart.
The response was complex, as many first responders had children the same age or children who attended the school, and one child who died was the son of a Devonport police officer. The response was guided by the needs of staff and family involved in the incident and addressed individual circumstances, ranging from providing counselling services through to arranging emergency responders to attend the funerals of the children where requested.
For the first time, the DPFEM employed assistance dogs in their critical incident response to the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy. Mr Richman was astounded at the positive impact they had.
“As soon as we walked in with the dogs it absolutely changed the dynamics. I’ve been absolutely stunned,” he said. “If this ever happens again, probably the first thing we do is get hold of the assistance dogs and bring them in.”
PHOTO: TASMANIA FIRE SERVICE
The one-year anniversary of the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy is approaching. Guided by a number of psychologists and Tasmania’s chief psychiatrist, DPFEM is now looking at how to mark the occasion for their staff and the community. It is the first time the organisation has done this and, if it has a positive impact, they will consider it for future response plans.
The Stewart & Heaton Mental Health Masterclass is a free annual event to promote mental health and well-being in emergency response workplaces. The 2022 event, ‘Well-being: the Tasmanian Context’, is available to view on AFAC YouTube: https://youtu.be/XKLIJLEwZxQ
Above Tasmania Fire Service staff have participated in the MyPulse health and well-being program, designed especially for emergency service responders across the state.
