Psychologically injured police in Victoria can now access a specialised clinical network that provides expert assessment of their mental health injury and evidenced based treatment from clinicians trained specifically to deal with the impacts of trauma related injury for police.
With the rollout of the long-awaited BlueHub initiative now a reality, Victoria Police officers, Protective Services Officers and Victorian-based Australian Federal Police members can now easily access this service to ensure timely and comprehensive treatment.
How do members access treatment?
Members can easily access treatment via a dedicated BlueHub members’ web portal – bluehub.org.au
Members who access this service can expect:
- Independent and timely assessment and treatment of their trauma related psychological injury
- Streamlined access to evidence-based treatment
- Access to clinicians with an appreciation of the policing context and culture
BlueHub is the result of sustained advocacy by The Police Association Victoria to provide simplified access to assist in the treatment of trauma related injury. The pilot is available to members of Victoria Police, Protective Service Officers and Victorian based Australian Federal Police members.
As part of a three-year trial, it is hoped the initiative will provide an operating model that can be deployed across every Australian policing jurisdiction to support the nation’s 60,000 police officers.
BlueHub has been developed by The Police Association Victoria through the partnership with Phoenix Australia and in consultation with the Australian Federal Police Association, Victoria Police, Australian Federal Police, WorkSafe Victoria and clinicians involved in the service provider network.
Phoenix Australia is internationally recognised as an industry leader in the provision of post-traumatic mental health care and has an established track record in the implementation of quality assurance programs for current and ex-serving Defence personnel and other emergency service agencies.
“Blue Hub is a critically important initiative in terms of its focus on ensuring that services are targeted to the needs of police and easily accessible, of the highest quality evidence-based care, and are supported by quality assurance systems,” said Professor David Forbes, Director Phoenix Australia – Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health said,
The Federal Government has allocated $2.5 million to support the three-year BlueHub trial.
“It is important that we provide streamlined pathways to access mental health services for our police and emergency service workers. With the launch of the federally funded BlueHub project in partnership with The Police Association Victoria and Phoenix Australia we are taking another crucial step in providing timely evidenced based treatment and assessment to those that experience regular exposure to traumatic events in their everyday roles in protecting the community,” said the Hon Greg Hunt MP.
“The Australian Federal Police Association, and the AFP have joined forced with The Police Association Victoria to help get this initiative off the ground and to ensure that the roll out of the Blue Hub meets the mental health needs of our collective members, an issue so common and prevalent within law enforcement agencies the world over,” said Wayne Gatt, secretary of The Police Association Victoria
“This is essential to ensure the ongoing health and wellbeing of our members, who are constantly frustrated by the current lack of appropriate and timely support when they desperately need it.”
“Our current system is the equivalent of sending soldiers to war without a field hospital. It’s putting police and PSOs in harm’s way without a back-up to support them when they invariably sustain an injury.”
“Blue Hub aims to change that, by making the first line of support for our members accessible and clinically tailored to deal with the sort of injury that police too often suffer.”