Occupational Violence Campaign

From ACT Ambulance Service

In March the ACT Emergency Services Agency launched the ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) Occupational Violence campaign across the ACT.

As those who work in ambulance services across Australia would be aware, unfortunately occupational violence is a reoccurring issue that our frontline workers face daily. Frontline staff are there during stressful times for our community, and in many instances, potentially some of the worst days of their lives. However, this is no excuse for violence or aggression. Nobody should have to go to work and experience violence. Everyone should feel safe when they are at work.

The campaign was implemented with an aim to:

- Increase awareness on occupational violence in the ACT

- Drive action and encourage the community to stop the behaviour whilst prioritising prevention for its employees

- Empower workers to take action, speak up and report violent and/or aggressive behaviour they face whilst at work

The ACT Emergency Services Agency is there to protect their front-line staff against all incidents of occupational violence.

These instances can include:

- Blocking someone from completing their job

- Yelling, screaming, swearing or another form of verbal intimidation

- Spitting & biting

- Hitting, kicking & punching

- Gendered violence

As well as educating the community, we hope that this campaign encourages our ACTAS staff to report any and all instances of occupational violence. Violence and aggression – it’s not part of the job and is not something frontline workers should be subject to.

There are a range of support services and mechanisms in place for ACTAS staff.

These include:

- Direct supervisor support at the time of the incident

- Peer support program

- Extensive employee assistance program

- ACT Emergency Services Agency Chaplains

- Frontline support from ACT Policing

Many of these services are anonymous and are tailored to assist staff in a personalised manner.

In addition to these support services, in late 2021 ACTAS introduced its occupational violence framework. This framework helps guide staff and identify the risk of violence and aggression and respond appropriately to prevent an episode occurring and minimise its impact. As part of the rollout staff undertake a full day faceto-face training course with supporting resources and eLearning modules.

This is a strong achievement, however, to fully combat this issue the community must get on board.

We hope this campaign takes a step in reaching the goal of zero instances of occupational violence towards ACTAS staff.

Violence or aggression – it’s not part of the job.

Challenges in emergency response are part of the everyday life of rescuers. Long distances and long transport times are problematic, as the oxygen supply is limited in most cases. With MEDUVENT Standard from WEINMANN Emergency you have a ventilator that works independently of oxygen. Thanks to turbine technology, it can ventilate patients without an external gas supply. With the low-flow supply you can easily supply patients with medical oxygen or concentrator oxygen.