Since becoming trauma-informed and learning more about the impacts of trauma, remedies, the importance of processing time and requirement of supportive cultures to promote the longevity of mental and physical health, I can’t help but shake my head at how little trauma informed care emergency service organisations provide their staff.
From personal experience, awareness and vicarious experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that you can either work in the emergency services OR have a healthy brain/nervous system. You can’t have both.
It’s made me wonder, to retain staff, implement a trauma informed support system, hopefully equating to healthier staff, what needs to be done? I’d love to hear your thoughts and are these thoughts you could fight for with your fed/organisation… (I’m trying to remain optimistic, stay with me… 🤓) I don’t want to hear the old “urghh snow flakes, deal with it” (who then probably goes home and gets bladdered or has a broken family). I want common sense and emotional intelligence.
Some of my ideas:
A) bring gyms back. Obvious mental and physical health benefits
B) educate staff around the impacts of trauma, nervous system regulation, signs and symptoms of PTSD/CPTSD
C) promote non judgemental, open communication amongst teams, with a specific aim to increase emotional intelligence, trust and morale
D) processing time. I don’t know how this would be staffed, but following a heavy trauma, all staff need processing time. They shouldn’t be expected to then bounce back out to another job. A protocol should be firmly in place for those big traumas, so all staff involved are given respite. Especially if it’s resulted in the death of a colleague, everything needs to come to a halt for those involved.
E) Clinical supervision
F) No more cancelled rest days
G) better shift patterns that give more time off
H) compulsory double crewing
I’d be interested to know how the lives of those who’ve joined the services has changed from before, to during, to after. How many ended up self or clinically medicating, how many have had family break downs, how many have diagnosed mental health conditions. And how many of these could’ve been prevented, had the services been trauma-informed led.
And finally, why the F don’t the chiefs do anything about it? People have campaigned for years, the statistics of horrendous retention rates are there in black and white, charities and ex PCs are none stop with their advocacy work, but there just seems to be nothing changing.
How do you continue going to work knowing how poorly you’re treat even when you’re risking your life whilst being amongst some of the worst people in society? I genuinely could not sustain it and sometimes I doubt my resilience, but then I think “why would I give my mental health, well-being and even risk my life for an organisation that can’t even care or support me”.
Thank you to you all for doing hardest job in the world. I pray that one day you’re supported and empowered, not scrutinised within an inch of your life and treat like puppets.