Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing NSW Ambulance Wellbeing Workshop

NSW Ambulance

Team: Elizabeth Simeoli

The workshop delivers strategies and tools for managing staff wellbeing, mental health and resilience, physical health, personal safety and risk, and occupational violence prevention. The strong commitment to improved wellbeing within the workforce will see around 98% of 6700 eligible staff complete the innovative, multi-day workshop by 30 June 2023.

NSW Ambulance covers an area of more than 800,000sq kilometres and is committed to caring for its paramedics, nurses, doctors, control centre and nonoperational staff. The workshop helps those working across more than 220 locations gain simple and powerful strategies and skills that may be implemented in their lives for enhanced health, safety, self-awareness, and overall wellbeing.

The Wellbeing Workshop is presented over three days for operational staff and 1.25 days for nonoperational staff. The workshop is divided into three key areas, ensuring staff are well at work, safe at work and protected at work.

In years where NSW Ambulance has faced record demand, we have held firm on caring for our people and delivered this wellbeing initiative. The workshop is now permanently embedded in inductions for all new staff and has also been adapted into an online learning format, which allows staff to continue to refresh on their Wellbeing Workshop journey.

Post workshop surveys show strong staff support with 84% of staff noting a positive change in their wellbeing and 84% feeling more confident in using their professional judgement around being well, safe and protected at work. These strong results and the internal support for the workshop have drawn attention of other emergency and ambulance services around the country looking for tools to improve the wellbeing and mental health of their people.