Following a successful bid the Isle of Wight NHS Trust has been awarded £10,000 from NHS England and Improvement to support staff and their mental health after they experience traumatic events in the workplace.
With the new funding the Trust will train an additional 16 TRiM practitioners to help improve support for staff and help them understand the effects that a traumatic event can have upon them.
Trauma Risk Management Methodology
TRiM, known as Trauma Risk Management Methodology, is a system that the Ambulance Service already has in place and has seen positive outcomes for its staff. Once fully trained the new funding will mean that the Trust will have 37 TRiM practitioners in place.
An enhanced TRiM support process will also ensure that there is a coherent, considered approach to the organisation’s response and that management and supporting departments are involved.
Jubb: We are committed to supporting our staff
Head of Health, Safety and Security, Rob Jubb, said,
“Facing violence and aggression of any kind can be a frightening experience. As well as being physically injured, our staff may also be affected emotionally. We are committed to supporting our staff to help them cope and recover if they have been a victim of violence in the workplace.
“Whilst we have seen a reduction in the number of assaults over the last few years; in 2019/20 our staff reported 293 physical assaults and 245 verbal assaults compared to 2020/21 where we had 161 physical assaults and 236 verbal assaults, we are working hard to reduce these numbers even further.
“An enhanced TRiM support process will ensure that there is a coherent, considered approach to the organisation’s response and that management and supporting departments are involved.”
Sargent: Important first step towards preventing work-related stress
Occupational Health Mental Health Practitioner, Steve Sargent, said,
“Being able to expand our TRiM support process we mean that we are able to support our staff even better. TRiM is an important first step towards preventing work-related stress which can also be caused by instances such as dealing with a serious multiple casualty incident or any incident that causes profound emotion, such as the sudden death of an infant.
“Having more practitioners trained will contribute to building a resilient workforce and help staff build resilience and feel supported when they have been exposed to a traumatic event.”
Howell: Hope this will help staff to report these experiences
Director of Governance and Risk, Lois Howell, said,
“We are delighted to have been awarded this funding from NHS England and Improvement to improve the support we provide our staff.
“Our staff should not have to experience violence or aggression when they come to work, and unfortunately many staff still do not report these instances.
“By improving the support available to them through training such as TRiM and other initiatives we hope that this will help our staff to report these experiences and feel more resilient when they may experience violence and aggression at work.”
News shared by Isle of Wight NHS Trust, in their own words. Ed
