Page 3763 - Week 11 - Thursday, 24 November 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
core reforms to improve the experiences of our health workers. The Australian Hospital and Healthcare Association’s Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research Perspective Brief: Towards a thriving healthcare workforce was released last month. It recommends specific evidence-based actions to support health workers through this period and into the future. Their recommendations align with what we are targeting here in the ACT, including policy development, wellbeing measures, establishing capabilities in monitoring workforce demand, co-design strategies, and establishing a clearinghouse of resources.
At the core of what we are doing is improving workplace support, safety and planning. We have implemented initiatives across the health system at the organisation level and in local areas, and we are doing this with our teams and our key stakeholders to make ACT public health services great places to work. The ACT government has placed a priority on co-designing initiatives with teams to promote wellbeing, and we have backed that commitment with an $8.75 million investment. We are supporting our health care workers to determine what is important to them in supporting their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
The inaugural Canberra Health Services staff wellbeing symposium was convened in August 2022. The symposium canvassed topics such as clinician burnout, available support services, and how to build a mentally healthy healthcare service. As part of this initiative, wellbeing working groups were set up to develop practical initiatives that could be implemented immediately, with more than 150 staff volunteering to be involved. There was strong representation from across the interprofessional teams, including physicians involved in junior doctor training, the prevocational medical education unit and physician training office as well as junior doctor representatives.
Further staff wellbeing forums have met since August, alongside the wellbeing working groups, and 12 initiatives were presented to address organisation and system-level improvements for health workforce wellbeing. Of those 12 initiatives, voting has occurred, and three have been chosen for implementation before the end of this year. These include creation of a physical restorative wellness space, development of a formal peer support program, and access to the Mayo Clinic Well-Being Index application to closely monitor improvements.
The wellness space will provide a restorative area for self-care and reflection that is physically and deliberately separate from regular workspaces. This will encourage health workers to check in, take a break and receive support away from the pace and demands of the health service. The peer support program will offer a 24/7 access system in which trained peers can provide informal and confidential support at short notice, to any CHS team members who are experiencing difficulties in the workplace or at home.
The Mayo Clinic’s mental health Well-Being Index app provides individuals and the organisation with a measurement of wellbeing. It also provides resources they can use if in stress, as well as de-identified data to pinpoint to executives any areas that need support. Initiatives and tools such as the Mayo Clinic’s Well-Being Index app have been recognised as important solutions for health care organisations to implement as part of fighting burnout and promoting wellbeing for the health workforce.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video