workforce
Caring for
the carers
A new service offers nurses
and midwives help in dealing
with personal or work issues.
Anthony Denham interviewed
by Dallas Bastian
N
urses and midwives seeking advice about their health
and wellbeing now have access to a national dedicated
telephone and online service.
Nurse & Midwife Support (NM Support) provides nurses and
midwives with 24/7 access to an experienced team that can provide
advice and referral on a range of health and wellbeing issues.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) initiative
is available nationally and is open to nurses, midwives, students,
employers, educators, concerned friends and relatives, and the public.
NM Support is run independently by Turning Point, an addiction
treatment, research and education organisation.
Anthony Denham, program director of NM Support at Turning
Point, says the service is about providing anonymous, no-strings-
attached support that helps nurses and midwives deal with health
issues that may be affecting their work or personal lives.
Aged Care Insite sits down with Denham to find out more about
the service and the issues nurses can call in about.
ACI: How did NM Support come about and how did Turning
Point get involved?
AD: We were lucky enough to get the right to set up the service
through a program of funding from the NMBA. This service is the first
of its type in Australia in terms of it directly supporting the health and
wellbeing of nurses and midwives. It’s available 24 hours a day, every
day of the year. People can contact the service by telephone or by a
website that’s got a wide range of resources available.
What are some of the issues that nurses and midwives can call
the service about?
It’s a range of things really. One of the key things about the service
and the way it’s designed is that it’s nurse-led, so they’ll be talking
to people who have an awareness of the context or the working
environment of people that are calling into the service – anything
from stress-related issues, mental health, even addiction issues,
problem gambling, anything along those lines that people feel may
be affecting their lifestyle or their wellbeing, and concerns about
whether it’s impacting on their performance in the workplace.
Part of that will be raising awareness around nurses’ and midwives’
professional requirements about how to work through these issues.
How will NM Support team members help?
The telephone service – there’ll be someone there every hour of the
day to pick up the phone, and there’s a couple of key components to
that. One is talking to a qualified counsellor, nurse or midwife about
what specific issues have prompted the call, and then providing some
assistance in working out the next steps of what that person can do
to start the journey to addressing whatever that issue is.
This service is really about caring for the carers. Nurses and
midwives spend their working lives looking after others, and this
confidential service provides a place for them to get initial advice on
what they can do next about addressing their issue.
This service was established following NMBA research. What
did that research involve?
In the lead-up to establishing the funding for this service, the NMBA
ran a survey of over 10,000 nurses and midwives, and a couple of
key things were highlighted in that survey. One was that many had
said that they had experienced a health-impairment issue or had
witnessed one of their colleagues dealing with something along
those lines. The consultation also revealed that many nurses and
midwives were concerned that the only available option they had was
to go through their employer, and what this service does is provide an
avenue outside of that workplace to go and get some initial advice.
The survey also revealed that they weren’t aware of all the
various services and schemes available to assist them.
Why is it important to extend the service to those working with
or closest to nurses and midwives?
It’s important to have that level of access, because often it will be
people around someone identifying issues and having concerns
and wanting to assist in that process. Indeed, with some of the
other similar services we run, we’ve found [it beneficial to offer]
that access for family and friends to be able to ring and get some
support for how it’s impacting them and [to learn what] they could
be doing to help that person through a tough time.
In terms of the employers, if you put someone in a nurse unit
manager position who is working through or may have made
some observations around someone that needs some support,
rather than feeling like their only avenue is to go through their
employer, they’ve got this independent service.
We’re hoping this service encourages people across the board
to come forward sooner and start addressing their issues sooner.
Who else is this service for?
This is a service that we want all nurses, midwives, students and
employers to be aware of. It’s free, 24/7 and highly accessible.
Even if you don’t feel like you need the number now, put it in your
phone, because you might need it one day. ■
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