❓ Hon Adele Farina questions the Minister for Health regarding St John Ambulance's support for paramedics and volunteers dealing with trauma and the national accreditation of volunteer training. The parliamentary secretary provides details of support services and explains why volunteer training isn't nationally accredited.
AnsweredQoN 1359Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ST JOHN
AMBULANCE — REGIONAL WA
1359. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
(1) What
debrief processes and support systems does St John Ambulance have in place for
paramedics in regional WA and volunteer ambulance officers in regional WA after
they attend distressing incidents, trauma incidents or incidents at which there
have been one or more deaths?
(2) What is St
John Ambulance doing to address post-traumatic stress experienced by its
paramedics in the metropolitan area, regional WA and the south west region, and
its volunteers in regional WA and in the south west region?
(3) Are all the
courses and units provided by St John Ambulance for qualification as a
volunteer ambulance officer nationally accredited?
(4) If no to
(3), why not?
AMBULANCE — REGIONAL WA
1359. Hon ADELE FARINA to the
parliamentary secretary representing the Minister for Health:
(1) What
debrief processes and support systems does St John Ambulance have in place for
paramedics in regional WA and volunteer ambulance officers in regional WA after
they attend distressing incidents, trauma incidents or incidents at which there
have been one or more deaths?
(2) What is St
John Ambulance doing to address post-traumatic stress experienced by its
paramedics in the metropolitan area, regional WA and the south west region, and
its volunteers in regional WA and in the south west region?
(3) Are all the
courses and units provided by St John Ambulance for qualification as a
volunteer ambulance officer nationally accredited?
(4) If no to
(3), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
Before I answer, I would like to wish Mr President a happy birthday.
The PRESIDENT : Thank you. I have finally qualified for a
Seniors Card!
Hon ALYSSA HAYDEN : The answer is as follows —
(1) Paramedics in regional WA can access the
following services to assist in debriefing, dealing with stress, managing
psychological first aid and mental health: 24-hour counselling and treatment
service; staff chaplain and the wellbeing and support team, consisting of
highly trained welfare officers; and clinical psychologists with expertise in
emergency services, trauma and grief. St John Ambulance proactively monitors
stressful cases with the duty manager in the state operations centre advising
the wellbeing and support team of cases for which a debrief might be appropriate.
The team will then assess with the paramedics, as well as the regional teams,
the most appropriate support program. Volunteers can access the same services.
(2) As stated in (1), St John Ambulance has
a comprehensive wellbeing and support structure that can be accessed by all
career and volunteer staff. St John Ambulance, through its annual education
program, promotes the skills to recognise when help may be required for an
individual or a colleague and what services are available.
(3) Provide First Aid is a nationally
accredited course. Level 1 and level 2 volunteer training is not a nationally
accredited course.
(4) St John Ambulance has developed the
level 1 and level 2 training programs to meet the specific needs of the 4 500
volunteers across Western Australia. These training programs have been
developed to be outcome and competency based rather than qualification based,
as this best meets the needs of delivering quality ambulance services across
the 2.5 million square kilometres of Western Australia.
Before I answer, I would like to wish Mr President a happy birthday.
The PRESIDENT : Thank you. I have finally qualified for a
Seniors Card!
Hon ALYSSA HAYDEN : The answer is as follows —
(1) Paramedics in regional WA can access the
following services to assist in debriefing, dealing with stress, managing
psychological first aid and mental health: 24-hour counselling and treatment
service; staff chaplain and the wellbeing and support team, consisting of
highly trained welfare officers; and clinical psychologists with expertise in
emergency services, trauma and grief. St John Ambulance proactively monitors
stressful cases with the duty manager in the state operations centre advising
the wellbeing and support team of cases for which a debrief might be appropriate.
The team will then assess with the paramedics, as well as the regional teams,
the most appropriate support program. Volunteers can access the same services.
(2) As stated in (1), St John Ambulance has
a comprehensive wellbeing and support structure that can be accessed by all
career and volunteer staff. St John Ambulance, through its annual education
program, promotes the skills to recognise when help may be required for an
individual or a colleague and what services are available.
(3) Provide First Aid is a nationally
accredited course. Level 1 and level 2 volunteer training is not a nationally
accredited course.
(4) St John Ambulance has developed the
level 1 and level 2 training programs to meet the specific needs of the 4 500
volunteers across Western Australia. These training programs have been
developed to be outcome and competency based rather than qualification based,
as this best meets the needs of delivering quality ambulance services across
the 2.5 million square kilometres of Western Australia.
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