Toronto, Canada – The community seeks for adequate mental health support for all first responders.
Traumatic Rescue Operations
Jim Harris is a member of the paramedic team. As he responds to emergency calls, Harris says that he often sees people going through the “worst day of their life.” Harris was a paramedic for two decades, and he is now the manager of Paramedic Training Programs at the Lakeridge Health. First responders, including the police, firefighters, and paramedics almost always come across traumatic rescue operations. On a daily basis, they encounter severe health emergencies, violence, and substance abuse. Harris added that first responders really go into such situations, wherein the individuals who they’re treating are experiencing their worst days. They need to provide an urgent care every single day, as part of their job, and such situations affect them over time.
Suicidal Reports
Reports showed that 13 Canadian first responders killed themselves in the past ten weeks. The report was conducted by the Tema Conter Memorial Trust. It is an organization that promotes mental health support and mental health awareness among emergency workers throughout Canada. Those who took suicides were combination of paramedics, police officers, and federal corrections officers. Emergency responders claim that they are not surprised on the series of deaths. They also say that training and resources for mental health issues are not sufficient, although they themselves can provide urgent care clinics and services during emergencies.
Mental Health Support
The provision of an urgent care clinic and mental health support vary with the location, says Dwayne Forsman, a representative of the Paramedic Association of Canada. For instance, the Toronto Emergency Medical Services solely have a dedicated staff psychologist. First responders and other workers can maximize such privilege. Forsman also added that although other health agencies filter their first responders in accordance with regional mental health professionals, they still do not understand the complexities within the line of work.
Employee Assistance Programs
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are further efforts geared towards first responders. This includes debrief teams as well as peer support groups. With EAP, first responders can speak with counselors about mental health. The EAP is a sort of an urgent care near me facility for them since they can also tackle about marital issues, financial troubles, or the traumatic experience they had that day. People working with these networks need to be composed despite the trauma or extremity of circumstances. Addiction, sleep disorders, and depression are prevalent among these workers. Thus, speaking to someone about an extreme incident surely promotes the mental health support towards first responders.
