Image from WorkSafe Victoria's anti-violence campaign ‘It’s never OK’
The Department of Health has recently rolled out free, standardised occupational violence and aggression (OVA) de-escalation training for healthcare workers. ANMF (Vic Branch) encourages any members who have not recently attended de-escalation training to register.
As a part of a broader OVA prevention and management approach, de-escalation training is intended to enable and facilitate in-the-moment responses to aggressive or violent situations. It is an important opportunity to equip you with the skills and knowledge to respond in a manner that will assist in reducing the associated risks if and when such a situation arises. It’s also a vital opportunity to safely practice your responses.
The training will be focused on de-escalation knowledge and practical skills for a range of patients and settings. There are two options available:
- For healthcare workers in low-risk areas, a one-hour online session.
- For healthcare workers in high-risk areas or those exposed to OVA, a three-hour face-to-face workshop (alternatively offered as 2 x 1.5 hours sessions).
The training is being delivered by senior psychologists who have extensive experience. All psychologists are AHPRA-registered and work with uncompromising standards to focus on delivering evidence-based and practical outcomes.
Members who have not had recent access to any de-escalation training, or who are in a position where you often work alone, are especially encouraged to register for the one-hour session. Your health services will provide you further information in relation to the three-hour sessions, where this is available.
Training is a very important part of a broader prevention program, and is the 6th point in the ANMF 10 Point Plan to end violence and aggression. This de-escalation training may be a good addition to the service-specific training that your employer is expected to provide in meeting their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
One-hour virtual training for low-risk workers
Participants will be introduced to de-escalation techniques to manage aggressive and violent behaviour in the workplace. This training will support a consistent approach to the prevention and management of OVA in low-risk settings. The learning outcomes include:
- understanding what violence and aggression looks like in the workplace
- exploring common triggers for this behaviour
- be introduced to a framework to de-escalate aggressive and violent behaviour
- understanding key techniques for responding to OVA during and after an incident.
The one-hour virtual training is free, and delivered online. Registration is available via Eventbrite.
Three-hour face to face training for high-risk workers
This face-to-face training is available as a three-hour continuous session or as two x 1.5 hour sessions.
Designed for frontline health workers who are at a high risk of experiencing OVA in the workplace, these sessions will apply an evidence-informed model for de-escalation that promotes a consistent approach to the prevention and management of OVA in high-risk settings.
Participants will develop competence to apply de-escalation techniques to manage aggressive and violent behaviour in the workplace. The learning outcomes include:
- understanding the importance of taking a safety-first approach
- developing capability in the use of static and dynamic risk assessments to identify triggers and warning signs relating to aggressive service user behaviour
- raising participants’ confidence and competence to apply proven de-escalation strategies and techniques to manage aggressive behaviour
- understanding key techniques for responding to OVA during and after an incident.
As these sessions are designed to be run in-house at relevant workplaces, your health services will need to register directly with the department. More details are available at health.vic.gov.au.
