{"id":8624,"date":"2024-02-05T14:54:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T04:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/?p=115238"},"modified":"2024-02-05T14:54:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T04:54:35","slug":"supporting-train-drivers-through-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=8624","title":{"rendered":"Supporting Train Drivers through trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/queensland-message-to-rail-trespassers\/\">Traumatic incidents<\/a> on the rail network can have a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of drivers and the wider staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><span id=\"more-115238\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.metrotrains.com.au\/\">Metro<\/a>\u2019s Trauma Recovery Guidebook: Volume Two provides layers of support,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">preparing and supporting drivers in responding to traumatic incidents that occur on network, such as encountering trespassers.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Metro CEO Raymond O\u2019Flaherty said ensuring the mental and emotional health of the team is just as critical as their physical safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur train drivers play a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless operation of our network. And in an ideal world, there would be no need for this guidebook,\u201d O\u2019Flaherty said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is that our train drivers often face traumatic events such as encountering trespassers on the network, which can have a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of our team members.\u201d<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Drivers and Train Services team initiated the development of the Trauma Recovery Guidebook to provide comprehensive support and resources for our train drivers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The first edition was developed in 2022 and aimed to be a guide to support drivers before and during a traumatic event. This second edition adds to that with new experiences direct from our drivers and more support for their families.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Metro has 1434 train drivers who are responsible for transporting around 500,000 passengers every day.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A peer support program has been running for several years where drivers receive trauma support training to be able to help their colleagues through traumatic situations, there are currently 57 peer supporters.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Trauma Recovery Guidebook details the process that occurs in the event of a railway incident and the support mechanisms that will be given to drivers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This support includes Workcover arrangements, allowing them the time off they need as well as the support to ensure that when they choose to return to work they are ready to do so.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Metro has a comprehensive Employee Assistance Program available to all staff members and their families to ensure they have the tools and support to handle traumatic incidents as well as the challenges that come from daily life.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ian Webb has been a train driver for 10 years, and is now involved in training new drivers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He has had four previous near misses and one fatality which occurred in April 2023.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Following this incident he took several weeks off work and was supported all the way through to his return.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">He now spends his working life training new drivers, and takes his experiences into the classroom to ensure they are ready for the reality of driving a train.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/supporting-train-drivers-through-trauma\/\">Supporting Train Drivers through trauma<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/\">Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traumatic incidents on the rail network can have a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of drivers and \u2026 <\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/supporting-train-drivers-through-trauma\/\">Supporting Train Drivers through trauma<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.railexpress.com.au\/\">Rail Express<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[184,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-safety","category-rail-industry-news-australia-new-zealand"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8625,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8624\/revisions\/8625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}