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Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing

Excellence in

Mental Health & Wellbeing

CAA welcomes the introduction of this new category in 2021. With mental health in our patients and our staff such a prominent focus in the field of paramedicine in the past decade, we are seeing exciting innovation and excellence by all. Each service is encouraged to continue to shine in this field and share with us their innovation and improvements in mental health and wellbeing.

Sponsored by

Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing Mental Health Response Program

Queensland Ambulance Service

Team: Sandra Garner

The QAS considers mental health crisis as a broad range of conditions, including risk to self or others, poor decision-making capacities/capabilities, distress, and abnormal behaviours. These presentations are marked by distress, including an inability to cope and the requirement for alleviation of the presenting symptoms. The QAS responds to all people in crisis and does not discriminate on age, geographical location, intellectual capacity, drug and alcohol intoxication or mental health status. The service is available 24 hours a day and is often the first step in accessing health services, or a last resort once all other avenues have been exhausted.

The QAS Mental Health Response Program aims to pivot and adapt their delivery of service to new and innovative systems of care, to provide the best possible outcomes for all patients. The QAS has embraced new models of care for people experiencing a mental health crisis. The QAS also has a strong appetite to utilise appropriate alternate pathways to hospital Emergency Departments (ED), to ensure that people in mental health crisis receive the most appropriate care, in a timely manner. The QAS Mental Health Response Program aims to create a better life for people experiencing a mental health crisis, who access services through Triple Zero, through timely access to appropriate mental health assessment and treatment. The QAS Mental Health Response Program supports paramedics and Emergency Medical Dispatchers in their assessment and decision making around people experiencing mental health crisis. Along with improved education and training, the QAS has implemented at a statewide level, the Mental Health Liaison Service (MHLS) in the Operations Centre, 24 hours a day and QAS Mental Health Co-Responders (MH CORE) program. The MHLS involves a Senior Mental Health Clinician working in the Brisbane Operations Centre to provide information, advice and assistance to EMDs, supervisors, managers, paramedics statewide, 24 hours a day, in an effort to support the timely and appropriate dispatch of resources to people in a mental health crisis, and to assist attending paramedics’ clinical decision making on scene. The QAS MH CORE pairs a senior Queensland Health Mental Health Clinician with a QAS paramedic, operating both in metropolitan and regional areas throughout the state. The MH CORE provides timely, appropriate and specialised services to people in mental health crisis in the pre-hospital setting.

Excellence in Leadership Victorian Ambulance Clinicians Unit (VACU) Review and Expansion: Improving the quality and access of psychological support, counselling and treatment to all Ambulance Victoria employees, first responders and their family members

Ambulance Victoria

Team: Sophie Barrett and Kerry Duncan

The aim of the project was to improve VACU services and increase uptake by Ambulance Victoria (AV) employees, first responders, and their families.

Strong clinical and commercial governance was essential to deliver a high-quality service and increase access for staff in regional areas (through more service providers and/or telehealth).

AV’s goals were to decrease barriers to accessing support for treating psychological illness and stress and to improve the mental health and wellbeing of AV people at a time when this support was needed more than ever.

By undertaking a robust and comprehensive review of all elements of the VACU network, AV strove to build confidence and improve access and outcomes for its people.

The VACU Review and Expansion project focused on improving the quality of and access to psychological support, counselling and treatment for all AV employees, first responders and family members. At a time when supporting the mental health and wellbeing of AV’s people is more important than ever, this project resulted in an increase in the number and quality of clinicians and increased service use, despite an extraordinary strain on the mental health profession due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project involved AV’s in-house Wellbeing and Support Services Team, in close collaboration with AV’s Procurement & Commercial Team, contracting a panel of psychologists and social workers to deliver mental health support through AV’s VACU network. Contracts were managed directly with clinicians rather than by an external EAP (Employee Assistance Program) provider, a unique model compared to most healthcare or emergency services agencies. As the demand for this service provision grew, AV recognised that governance was essential to ensure a high standard of clinical expertise; all clinicians, existing and new, were required to undertake a tender process. This has ensured a robust, compliant process, the integrity of funds spent, and quality health care providers.

Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing COVID-19 Response

SA Ambulance Service

Team: Chris Howie

COVID-19 presents many unique challenges for all health and emergency services personnel, however, when these are then overlayed with the individual experiences and challenges faced by our people at a professional, but equally importantly - a personal level, the potential cumulative effect of these factors cannot be ignored. Maintaining a holistic approach is a priority within all our staff wellness and assistance activities, ensuring we promote the ‘whole of person’ when looking at health and wellbeing. To encourage this, particularly within a COVID-19 quarantine environment, the provision of quarantine welfare packs was identified as a simple way for SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) to demonstrate organisational care and support for our people and foster positive health outcomes, even when separated by isolation requirements.

At SAAS we generally adopt and encourage a shared responsibility approach to wellbeing, however in response to COVID-19 we refocussed to increase our proactive support. Ensuring access to services was easy, seamless and timely was imperative to help protect the physical and psychological safety of our people. Increasing our staff wellness response has been pivotal to the positive engagement and feedback experienced by our staff, ensuring our staff feel both supported and valued throughout the prolonged period of the pandemic. Supporting all staff in their physical and psychological health has been a fundamental principle of the SAAS Peer Support, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and physical health programs since their inception. The negative effects of COVID-19 upon wellbeing have been broadly documented throughout the pandemic, and this has helped create opportunities to proactively tailor the support and services provided to our people.

Staff mental health and wellbeing became, and continues to be, a core focus of our organisational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The service has made a real difference to COVID positive staff members and close contacts by offering extensive proactive welfare checks, developing and distributing staff quarantine care packs and providing proactive advice through regular communications. SAAS included a Staff Wellbeing role as a staff member within its COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT), strengthening, enhancing and pivoting staff mental health and physical wellbeing services to meet the varied challenges created by the pandemic. Ongoing collaboration between our Staff Wellness and Assistance (SWA) team, our EAP provider and the IMT has also ensured a wellbeing lens was cast on all decision making, enabling the welfare of our people to remain at the core of everything we undertook.

Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing Medic Fit

NSW Ambulance

Team: Nam Le

NSW Ambulance (NSWA) recognises that supporting our staff’s health and wellbeing is vital for gold standard ambulance service delivery. To assist our paramedics with the requirements of their role, in 2019/20 NSWA developed the Medic Fit program. The program provides exercise equipment at over 240 worksites to provide staff with accessible opportunities to undertake low intensity and functional exercises in the workplace.

Participation in the Medic Fit Program is voluntary and designed to fit around work demands. It focuses on helping reduce the risk of mental illness and physical injuries. What makes the program unique is the internal support available from the NSWA Health and Fitness team -health coaches, injury prevention specialists and psychologists. As part of the program, tailored resources including a Medic Fit Program Guide, an online exercise library, and NSW Ambulance injury prevention program have been developed to support staff in safe use of the exercise equipment.

There is mounting evidence that suggests exercise is an effective component of treatment for people living with mental health issues. Exercise can make a big difference in mood and promoting positive mental health. It can also help reduce the symptoms of mental illness. The Medic Fit program encourages our staff to exercise when time allows, while promoting a culture of physical activity. The aim is to foster a positive health and wellbeing culture that supports our staff to better manage the demands of their role, reduce the risk of injury and improve their overall physical and mental health and wellbeing. As of March 2022, there are over 1600 NSWA employees inducted into the Medic Fit program. An evaluation survey requesting feedback from participants using the Medic Fit program found: • 80% of employees surveyed used the Medic Fit exercise equipment at least once a week.

• 70% of employees agree or strongly agree that the

Medic Fit program has helped them improved their physical health.

• 64% of employees agree or strongly agree that the

Medic Fit program has helped them improve their mental health and improve their ability to meet the inherent requirements of their role.

Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing ‘MyPulse’ Health and Wellbeing Program for Tasmanian Emergency Services Workers

Ambulance Tasmania

Team: Tessa Campin, Matthew Richman Ambulance Tasmania (AT) together with the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (DPFEM) recognised that significant issues existed with the wellbeing of emergency service responders (including career, volunteer and state service personnel). An analysis of the issues identified that there was a need to reimagine our approach to wellbeing, with a particular focus on the proactive dimension. The result – the tremendously innovative MyPulse Health and Wellbeing Program. The MyPulse program is a collection of health and wellbeing content and services offered to Ambulance, State Emergency Service, Fire, and Police in Tasmania and is tailored specifically to their unique needs and place in the community.

MyPulse provides proactive and preventative pathways designed to empower emergency service responders and their families to enact positive behavioural change. Emergency service responders can do this with the assistance of face-to-face sessions with wellbeing coaches.

Whist MyPulse commenced in late 2019, 2021 saw significant changes to the service that amounted to a major re-orientation of the program to ensure it was available to, and appropriate for, volunteers. In addition, as part of a vigorous reshaping of our concept of wellbeing, a comprehensive engagement strategy including the development of Lived Experience videos, was implemented. MyPulse was created to enact positive behavioural change within emergency services. It demonstrates the organisational commitment to the importance of our people, establishing trust in the ethos by providing access to the best quality coaching services available - all at no cost to the employee (including volunteers). The effectiveness of the program is measured through the data and insights developed through participation and inform the evolution of the program. MyPulse provides emergency service responders and their families access to tools and resources to help improve their physical, mental health and overall wellbeing both on the job and in their personal lives, with 24/7 access. MyPulse is a comprehensive suite of information and resources to be delivered to emergency service responders and their families. It provides access to a range of fundamentally important screening tools to assist emergency service responders to understand their mental and physical health needs. Should an emergency service responder display moderate to high risk factors they are entitled to access face-to-face coaching sessions to address the specific area of need. Ultimately, it is leading to a healthier emergency service sector.

Excellence in Mental Health and Wellbeing Telemental HEaLth Pilot – TeleHELP

Ambulance Victoria

Team: Professor Karen Smith, Nicole Magnuson, Lindsay Mackay, Gareth Becker, Mark Wilson, Angela Hodgkinson Ambulance Victoria’s (AV) Centre for Research & Evaluation received funding from the Better Care Victoria Innovation Fund to trial video triaging of mental health patients through an initiative called TeleHELP AV Telemental HEaLth Pilot).

TeleHELP allowed mental health nurses within AV’s Triage Services to conduct remote face-to-face assessments with patients who contacted Triple Zero.

Previously, low acuity mental health patients were transferred to a mental health nurse for triage within AV’s Secondary Triage Service. Through TeleHELP, eligible patients who are transferred to a mental health nurse are now offered the option of video triage as an extension of voice-only triage. Patients who consent to video triage are sent a video link via SMS that enables two-way live video streaming between the mental health nurse and patient.

The use of video triage facilitates a more accurate assessment by mental health clinicians who can then refer patients to the most appropriate pathway of care at the time of call. The TeleHELP model uses a patient-centred approach and upholds patient safety and quality of care. The model also provides mental health patients with an alternative to receiving an emergency ambulance and/or being transported to a hospital emergency department (ED). AV’s goals were to improve access to and quality of care for mental health patients calling Triple Zero (000). The model allows mental health nurses within AV’s Secondary Triage team to conduct remote, face-to-face assessment of patients as part of the triage process. AV also sought to reduce unnecessary transport of mental health patients to hospital emergency departments (EDs) by implementing the SMS-initiated video triage. Overall, the 15-month TeleHELP pilot demonstrated that video triage can be successfully implemented into Secondary Triage Services. Despite relatively low uptake of the video triage, results from the pilot demonstrate that video triage by a specialist mental health clinician is associated with a reduction in emergency ambulance dispatches and increased referrals to alternative service.

2023 CAA Awards for Excellence

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events@caa.net.au | caa.net.au

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