13 2017
sometimes you just want more Based on a starting income of $50,000 and a starting account balance of $50,000 HESTA has delivered $18,725 more to members than the average retail super fund over the past 10 years*. This was because of both lower fees and higher investment earnings.
hesta.com.au/betteroff
Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL 235249, the Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) ABN 64 971 749 321. This information is of a general nature. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or specific needs so you should look at your own financial position and requirements before making a decision. You may wish to consult an adviser when doing this. Before making a decision about HESTA products you should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (call 1800 813 327 or visit hesta.com.au for a copy), and consider any relevant risks (hesta.com.au/understandingrisk). *Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance and should never be the sole factor considered when selecting a fund. Comparisons modelled by SuperRatings, commissioned by HESTA. Modelled outcome shows 10 year average difference in net benefit of the main balanced options of HESTA and 75 retail funds tracked by SuperRatings, with a 10 year performance history, taking into account historical earnings and fees – excluding contribution, entry, exit and additional adviser fees – of main balanced options. Outcomes vary between individual funds. Modelling as at 30 June 2016.
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REGULARS From the President 05 States of Activity 06 Contacts 27
Cover photo: United Voice Queensland members.
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 2017
Ambulance Active Official Publication of National Council of Ambulance Unions
PUBLISHER Ambulance Active is published by Countrywide Austral. Countrywide Austral adheres to stringent ethical advertising practices and any advertising inquiries should be directed to:
Level 2, 310 King Street, Melbourne • GPO Box 2466, Melbourne 3001 Ph: (03) 9937 0200 Fax: (03) 9937 0201 • Email: admin@cwaustral.com.au
FEATURES development 10 Significant in National Registration mental health 12 Prioritising and wellbeing 14
beyondblue National Mental Health and Wellbeing Study of Police and Emergency Services
18 Collin, Benjamin & Harvey 23 NCAU Conference 2017 25 UVQ takes out FernoSim
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18 Disclaimer: Countrywide Austral (“Publisher”) advises that the contents of this publication are at the sole discretion of the National Council of Ambulance Unions and the publication is offered for background information purposes only. The publication has been formulated in good faith and the Publisher believes its contents to be accurate, however, the contents do not amount to a recommendation (either expressly or by implication) and should not be relied upon in lieu of specific professional advice. The Publisher disclaims all responsibility for any loss or damage which may be incurred by any reader relying upon the information contained in the publication whether that loss or damage is caused by any fault or negligence on the part of the publisher, its directors and employees. Copyright: All advertisements appearing in this publication are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced except with the consent of the owner of the copyright. Advertising: Advertisements in this journal are solicited from organisations and businesses on the understanding that no special considerations other than those normally accepted in respect of commercial dealings, will be given to any advertiser.
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PRESIDENT
STEVE McGHIE, PRESIDENT, NCAU
the PRESIDENT MEMBERS, OUR ANNUAL conference is coming up soon and this year it will be hosted by the Health Services Union – New South Wales and held in glorious Sydney. We hope you can join us for two days, Thursday 31 August and Friday 1 September, to hear about the work the NCAU and ambulance unions around the country are doing for their members, particularly in areas such as mental health and professional registration for paramedics. Once again, the NCAU is offering a sponsorship for one paramedic who is a member of a state ambulance union. The sponsorship includes flights to Sydney from the winner’s closest capital city and registration fees for the conference. To find out how to enter, please take a look on page 23 of this edition of Ambulance Active. I encourage all members to enter. There has been some good news in terms of Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs). South Australia and the Northern Territory have both finalised their new EBAs. Congratulations to these respective unions and their members for working together to improve wages and conditions.
AMBULANCE ACTIVE
“Occupational violence against
paramedics remains at a totally unacceptable level. There needs to be a zero tolerance to any violence or abuse against paramedics, and all other ambulance employees.”
Queensland is still in the process of reviewing paramedic wages and we are all hoping for a very good outcome for their members soon. Occupational violence against paramedics remains at a totally unacceptable level. There needs to be a zero tolerance to any violence or abuse against paramedics, and all other ambulance employees. Some states have already held high profile media campaigns around the issue, with Victoria about to launch one by WorkSafe. Finally, every paramedic and ambulance service worker should never take for
granted that our shift penalties will not come under attack in the future, just like the hospitality industry where the Fair Work Commission has ruled to reduce shift penalties on Sundays. Ambulance unions around Australia all need to stay aware and resist the reduction of shift penalties for our members, and workers in all industries. We hope to see you in Sydney in a few months where some of these issues will be discussed further. For those who cannot attend, we will provide a debrief in the next edition of Ambulance Active, due out later in the year.
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NCAU ACTIVE
ACT IN THE ACT, A CONSIDERABLE BODY of work is progressing to underpin fundamental change in the ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS). Eighteen months ago the Blueprint for Change commenced. This process had its genesis in the Cultural Review, conducted by external consultants in 2015. The Cultural Review identified a range of technical and adaptive challenges facing ACTAS as result of a rapid expansion of the service over a short period of time. Why is the Blueprint so important? TWU believes that ACTAS has the potential to be transformed into a high performing service in every aspect of its operations, if the areas identified in the Blueprint can be addressed. Blueprint Phase 1 has involved initiation and staff engagement. Five facilitated staff workshops were held in mid-2015. The issues raised by staff in these workshops formed the body of work addressed by four project working groups and six focus groups over the past 14 months. The major area of reform arising from the consultation has centred on staff welfare. A new ACTAS Wellbeing Programme has been endorsed for implementation. The programme takes a holistic approach to wellbeing, in line with beyondblue’s Good Practice Framework. It includes a peer support programme based on the QAS Priority 1 model as well as a range of other initiatives including operational debriefing processes, a release from duty procedure, information for families, training for managers and supervisors as well as a welfare officer’s position to oversee implementation. The second major initiative, identified in the Cultural Review, centres on leadership and management. Considerable development work is continuing around the development of a Leadership Framework for ACTAS. A series of facilitated staff workshops will be held shortly to finalise this framework. The intention of the Leadership Framework is to underpin leadership and management development as well
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as staff development and performance at all levels. Our challenge is to develop a framework that incorporates best practice, has a first responder agency focus and articulates closely with values and behaviours that we all want to see in ACTAS. As part of the ongoing commitment to consultation on the Blueprint, a joint TWU/ACTAS staff survey was undertaken. Approximately 28 per cent of the service responded. Respondents reported a level of frustration with the pace of change. The top three areas of importance that still require addressing are staffing numbers/ roster shortages, access to leave and staff welfare. Staffing, access to leave and rostering are all outside the scope of the Blueprint and are being pursued by the TWU. An independent review has been announced by ACTAS and is underway. Cultural change requires behavioural change. It takes time and hard work. Encouragingly, approximately a third of all staff surveyed reported that they felt improvements were occurring in ACTAS, albeit slowly. The next stage, Blueprint Phase 2, will focus on the implementation of the major initiatives identified in the consultation and the original reviews as part of a formalised PRINCE 2 project. Resolving issues around trust, conflict resolution and leadership are the key challenges facing ACTAS going forward. There is still much to do. The TWU believes that new and inclusive consultative frameworks being implemented as part of the Blueprint are a good first step. Many of the changes proposed will require consultation on incorporation into the EBA which expires soon. The ACT government will also have to fund initiatives. Change does not always mean progress. It is up to all parties, the TWU and its members, ACTAS management, the ACT Government and the Emergency Services Agency to cooperate in good faith and achieve changes that are progressive. The TWU is optimistic that the Blueprint, if successfully implemented, will equip ACTAS to confidently adapt to future challenges and help transform ACTAS into a high performing service.
Queensland WAGE REMUNERATION INQUIRY In late October 2016 the Inquiry commenced with Mercer collating extensive information and data from Queensland Ambulance Services (QAS) and interstate ambulance services. Between November 2016 and February 2017, Mercer consultants conducted work site visits and spoke directly with staff about the evolution of their work roles. Mercer has spoken directly with more than 300 staff, in various Local Ambulance Service Networks (LASN) and worksites across Queensland. The site inspections also included a ‘ride-along’ where the consultants were able to be placed within a response vehicle during a Friday night shift. At the conclusion of the site visits, Mercer rolled out a survey to enable all staff the opportunity to give input towards the inquiry. Over 2000 employees completed the survey. Mercer is now analysing the results of the survey and will continue to gather data from other states about pay rates and conditions, as well as information about work value changes within QAS. A comprehensive report was completed in June.
ONGOING CALLER JOURNEY TRAINING A new education package has been formulated for Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMD) to receive modernised education and understanding in relation to difficult and challenging callers through verbal engagement of the caller. As a result, a collaborative relationship between the caller and EMD has been established. Experience has shown that if such interventions are undertaken in a timely manner with genuine commitment, successful outcomes can occur far more often than previously thought possible. This will be delivered as an extension of the caller journey initiative. In these instances this education aims to provide strategies and techniques that will assist the EMD in understanding: AMBULANCE ACTIVE
NCAU ACTIVE
United Voice members across Queensland participated in ‘having a say’ by completing the Mercer Remuneration Inquiry Survey.
SUMMARY OF NEW INDUSTRIAL LAWS
• what a challenging situation is • why it’s normal for some callers to behave in this manner • how to influence the situation. This will allow for the caller and EMD to experience positive interaction, leading to the best possible outcomes for patients and attending crews. Positive verbal discussion is usually the key to engaging the caller and helping them become an active partner with the use of positive language, allowing the caller to manage their emotions and distress and maintain or regain control of their behaviour. Learning the skills of verbal engagement will better prevent crises and benefit the EMD in their workplace by using these techniques to remain in control of situations.
ACCRUED TIME Through discussions and inquiries from members, United Voice Queensland identified inconsistencies within various LASNs around how accrued time was being authorised. These inconsistencies were further highlighted through input from delegates at the Local Consultative Committee meetings and the issue was then raised at a State Consultative Committee (SCC) meeting. State Council representatives and QAS have now consulted to develop a set of guidelines that also includes FAQs. This was a positive win for members and State Council. AMBULANCE ACTIVE
ZERO TOLERANCE SAFETY TASKFORCE The Cairns fleet of the Zero Tolerance Safety Taskforce is the first in the state to be retrofitted with the new duress monitoring system. This is one of the initiatives to improve officer safety coming out of the safety taskforce recommendations. The monitoring system is a non-recording device designed to monitor the back of the vehicle. If paramedics begin to feel unsafe, a discreetly located touchpad is in the back of the ambulance; once it is hit a monitor in the front turns on for the driver to watch what is happening and raise the alarm.
The new laws enacted by the Queensland Government repeal and replace unfair laws imposed by the previous government. The new laws restore independence to the industrial commission, remove the requirement for the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission to consider government ‘fiscal strategy‘, reverse award stripping, reintroduce ‘good faith bargaining’, allow for ‘interim wage increases’, limit lawyers, include protection against workplace bullying, improve job security, and declare Easter Sunday a public holiday. More recently, United Voice Queensland made a successful application to vary the award to reflect the new entitlements accounting for the new public holiday. All work performed on the new Easter Sunday public holiday will be paid at double time-and-a-half. A small but welcome win for staff who work these unsociable hours.
REVIEW OF BLUE CARD SYSTEM The Queensland Government is currently undertaking a review of the working with children checks system and the requirement for certain employees to hold blue cards. United Voice Queensland has submitted to the review that the current exemption for ambulance service employees from a requirement to apply and hold blue cards should remain. We submitted that our members are subject to significant professional accountability and scrutiny, which is sufficient to cover working with children.
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NCAU ACTIVE
South Australia ENTERPRISE BARGAINING AEA-SA has finally reached an agreement with the South Australian Government for the latest Enterprise Agreement, which received a 98 per cent ‘yes’ vote from members. The key features of the new deal are: • 2.5 per cent pay increases every year on 31 December back-dated to 2014. Here is a snapshot of some of the new pay levels as they will be by the end of this agreement in December this year. The date of the first increase of the next agreement is set in this agreement (31 December 2018), but the quantum is yet to be negotiated. Patient Transport Service (PTS)
$59,153
Paramedic
$82,118
Intensive Care Paramedic (ICP)
$93,251
xtended Care Paramedic, E Retrieval/Rescue Paramedic
$116,915
Paramedic Team Leader
$105,779
ICP Team Leader
$119,697
Managers with paramedic/ICP qualification
$133,616
Note: These are base rates only and do not include composite (rolled-in) rates which range from 37.7 per cent to 50 per cent+ for paramedics, and 10 per cent for PTS. • Rolled In rate paid on all Long Service Leave accruals back-dated to 1994. Negotiations were protracted as SA Ambulance tried to extract various concessions and the union refused to budge. In the end, the union got just about everything it wanted and in return the union gave them a slightly less annoyed workforce. A fair deal in our view.
RESOURCE CRISIS South Australia is in the same boat as ambulance services the world over – too much work and not enough ambos to do it. SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) commissioned a capacity review and, although they are yet to share it with us, AEA-SA is confident that the review has confirmed exactly what the union has been screaming from the rooftops – that SAAS is chronically and dangerously understaffed. This review now sits with the South Australian Government. The AEA-SA fully expects the government to bite the bullet and provide the many millions of dollars needed to recruit the 400 or so new employees. The rest of this year is going to be an interesting year as it coincides with the lead up to the next state election and we will be continuing to agitate publicly for what is needed. The AEA-SA has public support and we know we will prevail.
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Tasmania Ambulance Tasmania has undergone a significant amount of leadership change in the last 12 months or so with the departure of CEO Dominic Morgan, who took nearly a year to replace. Paul Templar spent nearly all of that time as the acting CEO. There have been changes in many management positions. This period also included the bargaining period for the 2015 EBA, which was not resolved until August 2016. HACSUTAS members received back payments to December 2014 of the government sanctioned 2 per cent per annum benchmark. Along with locking in the Earlier Work Value Claim (14.1 per cent split over three payments), the agreement also provided for 2 per cent in December 2015, 2 per cent in December 2016 and a final 2 per cent in December 2017. The final payments are fast approaching – July and December 2017). It is nearly time to commence the bargaining process for the 2018 Agreement. Neil Kirby took up the CEO role of Ambulance Tasmania late last year. HACSU-TAS has meet with Neil on several occasions and so far has achieved a productive relationship. However, HACSUTAS notes that there is much ‘change’ forecast. Some of this change will be accepted by our members and some will most likely be contested vigorously.
HACSU-TAS is working hard to ensure elements of conjecture do not become agency policy. HACSU-TAS understands that there will be a push to re-introduce support positions back into the structure and potentially re-evaluate the organisational structure in general. New paramedic positions were not included in the recent State Budget, despite years of lobbying by HACSU-TAS for this to happen. Subsequently, post budget, the Health Minister announced new paramedic positions. It remains unclear how these positions will be funded, but ultimately that’s a matter for the Tasmanian Government. It appears that Ambulance Tasmania will try and recruit 35 qualified paramedics. During the 2015/16 EBA negotiations, a claim was raised by HACSU that a Necessitous Circumstances Fund be established. The idea was to have a ‘sick leave bank’ funded by HACSU members on a voluntary basis as a fallback position to ensure that when people were waiting on insurance payments etc, that they would not have a period without an income. It morphed into the formal clause in the EBA, the Extraordinary Leave Scheme. HACSU has continued to work with Ambulance Tasmania and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) about the rules for AMBULANCE ACTIVE
NCAU ACTIVE
this scheme. As it stands, this will be a voluntary scheme, with a committee to administer the rules and determine claims made against the scheme. Ambulance Tasmania will provide administrative and payroll support in relation to tracking the contributions to and payments from the scheme. The final rules, when tacit is approved, will be put to members for a vote. This will include consultation and explanation about how the scheme will and won’t work. If members reject the scheme as developed then it will not eventuate. HACSU believes members who are affected by significant health news do not also need to be placed into financial duress at the same time as trying to deal with that issue. HACSU continues to engage with Ambulance Tasmania and DHHS about resourcing, including improvements to ramping, missed meal breaks, shift extensions and delayed case responses. The solution is clear: that extra resources in the ambulance system as well as the hospital system be employed.
Victoria AMBULANCE VICTORIA An in principle agreement has been reached for the new enterprise agreement and Ambulance Victoria and the Ambulance Managers and Professionals Association are awaiting formal government approval. Ambulance Victoria is seeking to introduce 12-15 new Paramedic Community Support Coordinators by June 2018. Ambulance Employees Association-Victoria (AEA-V) is part of a working group to discuss the introduction of the new coordinators and locations are still to be determined. An issue arose recently following Ambulance Victoria with operational paramedics responding from sedans. There is now agreement in place where the minimum standard for an operational paramedic response is the Ford Territory. AEA-V was promised an additional 48 FTE in the last round of EBA negotiations.
The new staff have not been employed, and the union is following up this matter with the Victorian Government. The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) is unsure how many ordinary hours of work employees are working each financial year. The Agreement provides for 1,976 hours per annum, and ESTA and AEA-V are working on terms of reference for a payroll audit of the past six years.
PRIVATE SECTOR AEA-V and its members attended the inaugural bargaining meeting with St John recently. The union hopes to progress bargaining in an expedient manner. Members are to be congratulated for their solidarity throughout the majority support determination process. Member meetings have been held to seek endorsement for the log of claims in preparation for the commencement of enterprise bargaining negotiations. AEA-V is working with its members to commence bargaining for an enterprise agreement for Wilsons’ members.
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AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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HEADER STOP PRESS
SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IN NATIONAL REGISTRATION By Jim Arneman, Project Officer – NCAU
Nominations were recently called for the inaugural Paramedicine Board of Australia. NCAU, a National Paramedic Reference Group member, was informed via direct email from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) on 21 April 2017 in regards to the advertisement of the Board positions as part of the regulation of paramedics under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
From: Andrea Oliver Sent: Friday, 21 April 2017 4:17 PM Subject: AHPRA implementation: regulation of paramedics under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme Dear National Paramedic Reference Group members, I am pleased to advise of the launch of the AHPRA webpage: Regulation of paramedics under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. Direct link: http://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Regulation-ofparamedics.aspx We also expect to be able to advertise for the first appointments to the inaugural Paramedicine Board of Australia on Saturday 29 April 2017. The advertisement will appear in The Australian and the major metropolitan press in each state and territory. You will also be able to access the application form and information guide from our board recruitment webpage: http://www.ahpra.gov.au/National-Boards/ National-Boards-recruitment/Board-member-recruitment.aspx Closer to the advertising date, we will provide a media release that you may wish to use to encourage interested practitioners and members of the community to express interest in being appointed to the National Board. Paramedic stakeholders may also wish to consider nominating people. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are also encouraged to apply and/or be nominated. Andrea Oliver
Recruit and appoint First appointments to inaugural National Board advertised (late April 2017). Health Ministers make appointments (anticipated in September 2017).
Be engaged National Board will develop and consult on registration standards, codes, guidelines. Open an AHPRA account – you will be able to create an account for your contact details and when registration is open you can lodge your application for registration online.
Approval and decisions National Board will submit recommended registration standards to Ministers for approval. Accreditation arrangements will be decided by the National Board. List of approved programs will be decided by the National Board.
Registration open Log in to your AHPRA account and apply for registration and provide all requested documents.
Assess and decide AHPRA will assess your application. National Board will decide if you meet the requirements for registration. Paramedics will be advised of registration outcome.
AHPRA
Registration open This is a significant development. NCAU encourages all members to access the website and begin to familiarise themselves with the timetable in the lead up to national registration. For more information please contact Jim Arneman via jim.arneman@act.gov.au
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Log in to your AHPRA account and apply for registration and provide all requested documents.
AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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COVER STORY
PRIORITISING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING By Jim Arneman NCAU Project Officer – Paramedic Registration
In March I attended the beyondblue Mental Health Strategy for First Responders Conference in Melbourne on behalf of NCAU along with Danny Hill from AEA-V and Phil Palmer from AEASA. The conference was a follow up to the highly successful inaugural meeting held in Sydney in 2016. In 2014, beyondblue identified a pressing need to further research and support mental health and wellbeing initiatives for first responders, based on the higher than average prevalence of suicidality which has been well documented in recent years. They’ve since taken on a leadership role in promoting mental health and wellbeing initiatives for the police and emergency services sector. PTSD was certainly extensively covered at the conference, including the evolving evidence around diagnosing and best practice guidelines for treating PTSD. Many of the expert speakers spoke of the emerging evidence of cumulative trauma exposure and its effects on mental health. The really interesting new research however is focusing on the role organisational factors often play in undermining mental health and wellbeing and the pivotal importance of leadership in dealing with this major problem.
ORGANISATIONAL FACTORS Speakers highlighted the impact that organisational factors have on mental health and wellbeing. The evidence is now supporting the fact that cumulative
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BUT ALSO KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT IS REALLY CHALLENGING THEM • Organisational change • Financial pressures • Workload pressures • Late shift finishes • Late meal breaks • Family pressures • Interpersonal relationships stress from trauma exposure, along with impacts caused by day-to-day issues are significantly impacting on health and wellbeing in many responders. Organisational change, financial pressures,
relationship issues, workload, late meals and constant overtime often play a role. Tucker et al documented impacts of accumulation of negative organisational experiences and disgruntlement (e.g. lack AMBULANCE ACTIVE
COVER STORY
of support, unfair treatment, negative work relationships) triggering more ongoing negative reappraisal of various operational experiences. Some of these factors fall into the personal domain. Speakers argued however that work-based holistic wellbeing strategies can play a significant role in raising awareness, promoting prevention, providing targeted and appropriate response to injury along with ongoing support. beyondblue argues this is particularly important given the predictable and unavoidable additional stressors faced in police and emergency services – if we can take care of the predictable we can build organisational resilience for when it is needed most.
VICTORIA OMBUDSMAN’S INVESTIGATION INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF COMPLEX WORKERS’ COMPENSATION CLAIMS AND WORKSAFE OVERSIGHT, SEPTEMBER 2016 “In effect we found cases which agents were working the system to delay and deny seriously injured workers the financial compensation to which they were entitled – and which they eventually received if they had the support, stamina and means to pursue their case through the dispute process. The impact of this on vulnerable people cannot be overstated.”
LEADERSHIP Several speakers, notably Dr Peter Cotton, talked about the important impact people-focused leadership capabilities can have on organisational resilience and staff wellbeing. Leadership frameworks that concentrate on training capabilities that build trust, clarity and safety; build engaging and supportive teams; foster a team climate supportive of wellbeing; proactively support at-risk employees; and actively address behavioural issues were all important contributors to improved mental health and wellbeing outcomes generally in organisations. Victoria Police are currently implementing a cultural change
PTSD IS A DISORDER OF NEURAL FUNCTION AND PHYSIOLOGY Not just a problem of complaint, not coping and compensation seeking process with all of these skills recognised as vital contributors to future success. Many of these issues have traditionally been argued for by unions seeking to improve our members’ conditions at work. There is a significant opportunity in most ambulance services to improve business processes and psychological wellbeing of staff at the same time. Governments also has a role in maintaining appropriate staffing levels, funding support programs and smoothing out adversarial processes that often see workers’ psychological health and wellbeing worse, not better off in the short term. AMBULANCE ACTIVE
STIGMA Professor Sandy McFarlane from the University of Adelaide traced the history of stigma around reactions to trauma back to the western front in WWI. He convincingly argued and gave evidence as to how insurers, governments and sections of the medical profession have often colluded to deny or delay compensation when it was justified, often leading to worsening symptoms and prolonged recovery. Professor McFarlane highlighted the recommendations of the 2016 Victoria Ombudsman’s Investigation into the Management of Complex Workers’ Compensation Claims and Worksafe Oversight, which clearly was of a view that these practices are still evident. McFarlane called for the creation of industry-specific occupational health services to deal with police and emergency services personnel with psychological injuries, given the unique factors in the sector. His call for multi-disciplinary teams to deal holistically with injured workers struck a chord generally with the audience, who could appreciate the benefits of having a multi-disciplinary team with skills to provide evidence treatment, as opposed to the often fragmented and non-specialised interventions that are currently far from best practice. McFarlane succinctly argued that PTSD has to be seen as a systemic disorder that has demonstrable physiological as well as psychological impacts.
mental health and wellbeing was consistently stressed by many speakers throughout the conference. NCAU is currently shifting its focus from national registration to mental health and wellbeing. We are in a good time and place to significantly improve members’ wellbeing and work conditions going forward by promoting good leadership models, comprehensive mental health strategies and advocating for government funding and resourcing to underpin these into the future. A great opportunity exists to implement rotational positions out of operations to prevent burnout and better transition injured workers back to duty, amongst other initiatives. A new working group has been formed and is currently discussing strategies to promote the health and wellbeing of paramedics nationally. To discuss anything from the conference please contact me at jim.arneman@act.gov.au
FINAL TAKE HOMES Unions have a significant role to play in this space going forward. The importance of good management/ union relations to underpinning good
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COVER STORY
BEYONDBLUE NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING STUDY OF POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES By Jim Arneman NCAU Project Officer – Paramedic Registration
The NCAU is happy to endorse members participating in beyondblue’s National Mental Health and Wellbeing Study of Police and Emergency Services. As a stakeholder in beyondblue’s past national conference that has examined mental health and wellbeing in Australian first responder agencies, the NCAU welcomes the significant role beyondblue plays in this space, and recognises the often unique challenges that paramedics face each day, along with other first responders’ mental health and wellbeing. The study will involve a national survey that will be a unique opportunity to map where mental health and wellbeing is at, what gaps there are, and how best to address them. In paramedicine the importance of an evidence-based approach to issues is understood. The data produced by the national survey will provide a fantastic opportunity to push for changes in the mental health and wellbeing of NCAU members, based on an internationally significant sample of broad evidence. NCAU welcomes beyondblue’s committment to making the results and evidence available on an agency-byagency basis to drive change across the ambulance sector.
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WHY IS BEYONDBLUE DOING THIS RESEARCH? Limited data is currently available on mental health and wellbeing of police and emergency services personnel in Australia. There is extremely limited evidence on which interventions and practices actually work for either individuals or agencies.
WHAT ARE THE KNOWLEDGE GAPS? • What are the current prevalence rates of mental health conditions among police and emergency services workers in Australia? • Which police and emergency services workers are at greatest risk of experiencing a mental health condition or suicide? • What are the levels of stigma around mental health and suicide? • What are the key barriers to seeking treatment and support? • Where should we be focusing our efforts to achieve most impact? • What are the risk and protective factors in each service? There is a tremendous opportunity to achieve significant impact through a collaborative sector-wide effort and to respond to new evidence that will be generated.
ADVISORY GROUP beyondblue is committed to working collaboratively on the study and ensuring it is informed by the diversity and depth of expertise in the police and emergency services sector. An advisory group has been formed to provide strategic guidance for the study. The group is chaired by Chairman of Ambulance Victoria/former Commissioner of Victoria Police Ken Lay AO APM. Membership includes: • Executive leaders from agencies and exec-level union leaders • Academics and clinicians with specialist expertise • Representatives of individual personnel and family members • Representatives of community support groups Representatives of the ambulance sector include the Chief Executive of NSW Ambulance Dominic Morgan and beyondblue’s Police & Emergency Services Engagement Manager Rob Heaslip, a senior manager with Ambulance Victoria. NCAU is working closely with beyondblue to ensure the study meets the needs of the ambulance sector. AMBULANCE ACTIVE
COVER STORY
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
WHAT?
WHAT?
WHAT?
Personal stories of police and emergency personnel and their family members.
National survey of all police and emergency services personnel in Australia.
Agency-by-agency engagement, consultation with other key stakeholders.
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
To provide an opportunity for individuals to tell their story and to inform Phases 2 and 3.
To build a comprehensive picture of mental health conditions, stigma and help-seeking behaviours, risk and protective factors.
To translate the findings from Phases 1 and 2 into practical strategies to achieve change. HOPE. RECOVERY. RESILIENCE.
PHASE 1
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AIM To gather and learn from the personal experiences of current and former police and emergency services personnel and their family members.
OBJECTIVES • To give a voice to frontline and nonoperational personnel and their families • To validate our understanding of key issues • To inform the next phases of the research. beyondblue included a small representative sample of current and former personnel and family members/ partners, which were drawn from: • each state and territory, including ambulance, fire and rescue, SES and police • participants recruited through beyondblue’s networks, a number of police and emergency agencies, internet panels and research databases AMBULANCE ACTIVE
• interviews conducted face-to-face, by phone and online. Participants were able to share as much or as little of their experiences as they felt comfortable.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The outcome of Phase 1 was that it validated key issues believed to affect mental health and wellbeing in police and emergency services personnel, and
confirmed the need for a national survey. Key issues to be explored include: • personal motivations to seek help • available supports • risk and protective factors in the workplace. beyondblue may promote the Phase 1 findings to raise awareness and increase support for initiatives to improve wellbeing in police and emergency services personnel, when we are further into the project.
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COVER STORY
PHASE 2
PHASE 3
NATIONAL SURVEY
EVIDENCE TO ACTION
Objectives and study methodology are informed by the desired outcomes: • Equipping the sector with essential knowledge by establishing national prevalence rates of wellbeing and mental health conditions • Supporting agencies to identify practical, evidence-informed strategies for promoting workforce mental health.
METHODOLOGY • Aiming to include current employees and volunteers and former employees from every agency. • Stratified random sampling from employee/volunteer lists where possible. • Ethics approval from UWA Human Research Ethics Committee and through liaison with agencies. • Online administration of survey with limited hardcopy forms available on request.
The aim of Phase 3 of the study is to identify practical, evidence-based strategies to improve mental health and wellbeing within the individuals, organisations and systems that make up the Australian police and emergency services sector. This best practice approach will involve consulting with every agency regarding the findings of the personal experiences project and the national survey (Phases 1 and 2), to figure out how to interpret these findings and best apply them to meet the specific priorities and situation of each agency. This stage of the project plans to involve the whole sector to work collaboratively to identify a way forward, including agencies, unions and associations, insurers, regulators, relevant government departments, community and peer groups, individual employees and volunteers and family members.
As members can no doubt appreciate, this study presents a significant opportunity to inform improvements to our paramedics’ mental health and wellbeing across every state and territory. We strongly encourage participation when the national survey goes live. If members have any questions about the survey, please contact the beyondblue representatives listed below for further information. Any members who would like further information on this phase or the present Phase 2 survey should contact beyondblue.
CONTACT Rob Heaslip Police & Emergency Services Engagement Manager Rob.heaslip@beyondblue.org.au Muireann Heussaff Police & Emergency Services Program Lead Muireann.heussaff@beyondblue.org.au
Phone: 0407 883 490
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COLLIN, BENJAMIN &Â HARVEY
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AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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My name is Collin Jenner and, together with my wife Simone, we have six children aged between 6 and 18 years. Our second youngest, Benjamin, is eight years old and has Autism Spectrum Disorder. BENJAMIN’S SPEECH DEVELOPMENT had always been somewhat delayed, but at the age of three when he was diagnosed with ASD, it had become very apparent that his development in many cognitive areas was not as it should be. He had displayed some behavioural signs that we now know to be consistent traits of autism, but had not realised it in his earlier years. Benjamin does not effectively communicate verbally. Whilst he does speak, what he says is repeated phrases that he has heard somewhere, usually off the TV, and spoken out of context. This is called echolalia. The few short sentences that he does say that are in context are spoken in a robotic, monotonal fashion. These have been taught to him using a picture exchange communication system in order to ask for things. This system is often used to help develop speech, but has not been particularly successful with Benjamin so far. Stress and anxiety had progressively become worse over time for Benjamin, resulting in most of his therapy sessions and school time spent pacing the room stimming, an autism trait consisting of making a humming-like noise and usually waggling a finger or other flexible object closely in front of their eyes. This is an expression of distress, anxiety, fear or even excitement. Often, a therapy session would result in a meltdown with him laying down on the floor, crying and distressed. For Benjamin, toilet training has been very delayed, meals are difficult due to a greater sensitivity to texture and mouthfeel of foods resulting in very fussy eating, he is sensitive to noise and sometimes bright lights and doesn’t handle crowded environments well. Benjamin also started to run off from us at any opportunity. He would not respond to being called AMBULANCE ACTIVE
back or being yelled at; if you ran after him he would run faster, and with no awareness of any hazards around him, it became dangerous to even take him out to the supermarket. We have over time followed a few different paths of therapy, all with limited success, and a few years ago started to research the concept of a therapy pet. There is widespread anecdotal evidence in support of pets as therapy in numerous environments and we thought this could
“The tremendous
generosity of union members and my colleagues in Ambulance Victoria in terms of money, time and effort was outstanding.
”
be something that Benjamin could benefit from. We looked at everything from cats to chickens and after researching dogs as an option, decided to apply for an assistance dog through an organisation called Dogs for Kids with Disabilities (DKD). This was not a particularly easy option. It costs $40,000 to raise and train one assistance dog, and recipient families are asked to fundraise $25,000 towards this. DKD asks this because, as a small charity, they have a small profile and therefore a
very limited capacity to secure funds and sponsorship. So into the humbling world of fundraising we went. Fundraising is all about networking. The more contacts you have and the broader your network is spread, the easier it is to successfully raise funds. During the time we spent raising the necessary funds, we organised movie nights, sausage sizzles, wine drives and raffles. We were convinced to set up a crowdfunding page which I was initially reluctant to do for two main reasons. One, I hated asking for donations. It’s far easier to provide a service or product and the price includes the donations. Secondly, after researching crowdfunding, it turns out they use your contacts to advertise your campaign to. If you only have small network, then you’re not going to raise much from it. Essentially, strangers rarely contribute to these type of things. Except if you’re a celebrity, whose network of “friends” can result in very large sums of money being contributed in very short periods of time. Fortunately for us, the AEA-V came to the rescue. The large number of contacts and broad reach of the union’s networks meant that a far larger group of people were aware of our campaign. The tremendous generosity of union members and my colleagues in Ambulance Victoria in terms of money, time and effort was outstanding. As a result of all this, the funding was raised and when a suitable dog became available, Benjamin was matched with his assistance dog. So, into our lives came the adorable Harvey, an 18-month-old black labrador. This animal’s intelligence and level of training is sensational. As an assistance dog, he has the same continued on page 20
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continued from page 19 rights as a seeing eye dog – that is full public access. He was trained to anchor Benjamin using a belt and tether attached to Harvey so that if he tries to run, the dog physically stops him through sheer mass or by laying down. Due to this, we have been able to take Benjamin safely back out into the world, the zoo, museum, the supermarket, school fete. All places very ‘everyday’ for other people, but vitally important experiences for an autistic child trying to understand the world around him. Since Harvey has been living with us, Benjamin’s anxiety and distress has reduced markedly. The most visible part of the benefit that other people see is the anchor role played in public, and that is fantastic for us as a family to be able to go out to places again. However the most exciting aspect for us has been to see him relaxed and completing exercises at speech therapy and getting benefit. His teachers at school said that the changes in him had been dramatic, much better concentration, less anxiety, completing tasks better, faster, easier. This dog isn’t going to teach him to talk,
“His teachers at school
said that the changes in him had been dramatic, much better concentration, less anxiety, completing tasks better, faster, easier.
”
but he is helping to make the things that might, work better. At home he is just a dog, a wonderful companion for Benjamin and the whole family. He plays, runs around, loves a pat and a cuddle, drops hair everywhere and poops on my lawn. Harvey has changed Benjamin’s and the rest of the family’s lives for the better. We will be continuing to organise fundraising events and public awareness campaigns for this charity as much as we
can. With the limited profile and funding opportunities that DKD have, they need as much help as they can get. We know how much these dogs can help children with special needs and their families and we have to do what we can to help them. There is a diary of Benjamin’s journey so far with Harvey as well as some footage of what it was like before he came to us on www.facebook.com/benjaminsbestfriend. You can also go to dkd.org.au to read about what they do.
PO Box 1215, Mooloolaba Ph: 5444 6555 Proudly Supporting Local Paramedics
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AMBULANCE ACTIVE
MONASH MEDICINE NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
TAKE YOUR CAREER FURTHER Qualified and experienced paramedics are encouraged to apply for the Master of Specialist Paramedic Practice. This program is designed to support career progression to specialist intensive care, extended care or aeromedical and retrieval paramedic clinical roles. The Master of Specialist Paramedic Practice develops advanced knowledge, skills and clinical decision making in preparation for specialist clinical roles including intensive care, extended care or aeromedical and retrieval paramedic positions in addition to leadership, education and research roles. Existing specialist paramedics in these fields may also be eligible for credit in order to upgrade their academic skills and qualification. WANT TO FIND OUT MORE? Search Monash Master of Specialist Paramedic Practice If you have any questions, please call 1800 1800 666 247 9905 Monash 8326 or or 9902 0122 From outside Australia please call +61 3 9902 6011
17P-0494. April 2017. Produced by Strategic Marketing and Communications, Monash University. CRICOS provider: Monash University 00008C Monash College Pty Ltd 01857J
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NCAU CONFERENCE
SYDNEY, 31 AUGUST-1 SEPTEMBER 2017 Conference topic: ‘Mental Health and National Registration’ The 2017 NCAU conference will be held at the HSU headquarters in the Sydney CBD over two days Thursday 31 August and Friday 1 September.
Win a trip to Sydney The NCAU will sponsor a member to attend the conference.
To enter simply... Tell us in 250 words or less why you want to go to this year’s NCAU Conference in Sydney for your chance to win return flights, accommodation and a place at the opening night cocktail function. To enter, email your response to aeavic@unitedvoice.org.au Entries close at 5pm on Friday 21 July 2017. THE FINE PRINT: • You must be a current financial member of a constituent NCAU member union to be eligible to enter this competition. • The prize consists of return flights to Sydney with two nights’ accommodation and some meals. Flights depart from your closest capital city on Wednesday 30 August, returning Friday 1 September 2017.
• Some meals, airport transfers and ancillary costs will be the responsibility of the sponsored member (competition winner). • To enter, members are required to outline in 250 words or less why they wish to attend the NCAU Conference. • Applications must be submitted via email aeavic@unitedvoice.org.au by 21 July 2017. • The NCAU will evaluate all entries and select one member to sponsor. The decision of the NCAU will be final and no further correspondence will be entered into. • The member selected by the NCAU to be sponsored must be available to attend the NCAU Conference and will be responsible for organising their own leave from their employer, if required.
• The member selected by the NCAU to be sponsored to attend the NCAU Conference will be required to submit an article about their attendance at the conference for publication in the November 2017 edition of Ambulance Active.
• The article must be submitted to the NCAU by 30 September 2017. AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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UVQ TAKES OUT FERNOSIM
Team United Voice Qld, left to right: James Thompson, Lawrence Odlin, Nick Lentakis, Jason Keen.
UNITED VOICE QUEENSLAND WAS crowned the best of the best late last year, winning the annual FernoSim Challenge ahead of four teams made up of top paramedics from Australia and New Zealand. Held in Auckland, the world-class response simulation challenge tested the mettle and skill of the teams in a complex and tense emergency situation. The emergency scenario was an assassination attempt at a political rally where each team had just 20 minutes to respond to a range of injuries including gunshot wounds and a cardiac arrest. Using computerised mannequins to simulate the real-life scenario, paramedics compete under pressure. The winning United Voice QLD team, made up of Nick Lentakis, Lawrence Odlin, Jason Keen and James Thompson, were pleased to have won the trophy for United Voice. “For me, the training leading up to the event and the high stakes of the event has really motivated me to increase my critical skills,” Jason said. “It was great to associate with the other teams there,” Lawrence said. “Now that we’ve achieved success, we want to keep going and make our global mark as clinicians. We want to highlight the full skillset that QAS officers have.” United Voice has sponsored the FernoSim Challenge for four years. AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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CONTACTS
Australian Capital Territory Steve Mitchell E: TWUAmbulance@act.twu.com.au P: 02 6280 9353
New South Wales Greg Bruce E: GBruce@ambulance.nsw.gov.au P: 0408 020 609
Northern Territory Erina Early E: erina.early@unitedvoice.org.au P: 0400 030 834
Queensland Michael Formica E: michael.formica@unitedvoice.org.au
South Australia Phil Palmer E: info@aeasa.com.au P: 08 8340 3511
Tasmania Tim Jacobson E: tim@hacsutas.net.au P: 1300 880 032
Victoria Steve McGhie E: steve.mcghie@unitedvoice.org.au P: 03 9235 7661
Western Australia Emmet Molloy E: emmet.molloy@unitedvoice.org.au P: 08 9388 5400
AMBULANCE ACTIVE
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Around 200 people gathered on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin in April to honour the emergency services men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The NCAU was represented by ACT delegate and paramedic Steve Mitchell along with Rob Trevillion from the Transport Workers Union.
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