Mr Matt Glynn1, Mr Ben McCauley
1Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia Pty Ltd, Adelaide , Australia
Having attended 3 shark attacks in the space of 8 weeks in late 2018, Ben will share his experiences as a Rescue Crew Officer conducting retrievals in shark-present waters. During a period of unprecedented shark bite incidents in the Whitsundays, it was Ben who was tasked with going “down the wire” on these three occasions to retrieve the patients. Ben intends to speak about employee wellbeing when exposed to such confronting cases.
The issue or problem under consideration
1.The shark aspect wasn’t the issue and responding to the task was second nature. These are routine elements / day-to-day norms rigorously trained for.
2.What isn’t is the emotional response triggered by the friends and family of the victims. This is the unknown part of the job, and currently has limited training.
3. In the moment, the emotional part is potentially “ignored” to get the task accomplished, but, in Ben’s words, “it comes back”.
The presentation will cover the following:
1.How to deal with after affects?
2. How to recognise a need in yourself
3. Is the better approach to have a professional avenue provided regardless of request?
4. How to overcome the stigma of not wanting to look weak in front of work mates
5. The other factors was the continued media attention and the impact of repetitive questioning and re-living the event
The outcome or the conclusion reached
1. Recognising that having an EAP available to access is not enough
2.Taking Mental Health first aid in the work place to the next level, Babcock are establishing Mental Health First Aid training for leadership and management, including the appointment of certified first aiders
3.The introduction of welfare reports following high profile, traumatic events to allow further support to the provided 4.Exploring peer support programmes with the Agencies we work with
Biography:
Ben McCauley is a Rescue Crew Officer for Babcock Mission Critical Services working for the CQ Rescue Helicopter Service in Mackay Queensland. The service operates on behalf of Queensland Health to provide the aeromedical helicopter assets for the region