26 September 2023

New support centre for healthcare workers

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A new virtual support centre has been established to keep healthcare workers mentally and physically healthy.

The Victorian Agency for Health Information’s (VAHI) Safe Care Victoria is to open the support centre to ensure healthcare workers have access to dedicated physical and mental health support when they need it, no matter where they are.

Minister for Health, Martin Foley said the virtual support service currently provided a central resource for staff and directed them to existing tailored support programs but would expand in the coming months following feedback from healthcare workers.

“Through Safer Care Victoria, healthcare workers will shape the future of the centre and the support it provides –responding to the areas of greatest need for workers in hospitals, primary health, aged care and community health services,” Mr Foley said.

“The centre will share tools, resources and training to help organisational leaders and managers better support their staff,” he said.

“[It will] look at ways to create system-wide changes to ensure worker wellbeing is a priority across the entire Victorian health system.”

Mr Foley said the centre complimented the State’s existing initiatives to keep staff safe including peer training; individual services’ wellbeing programs; targeted family violence support for healthcare workers; and a pilot program to support staff who lodged a mental health injury worker’s compensation claim.

“The coronavirus pandemic highlighted how important it is to protect the wellbeing of our healthcare workers – not just in providing a safe work environment, but to address the stress and anxiety they may feel day to day,” the Minister said.

“Our health workforce has given us so much in the past year – and we won’t lose our focus on them, with this new worker wellbeing centre to make sure they have the tools they need to stay safe and happy on the job,” he said.

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