psychological health and safety services

Psychological Health and Safety Management Systems

We can help you invest in your business' greatest asset - your people. We can develop and integrate effective processes that help prevent & manage psychological stress, allowing you to focus on your business.

Preparation of Safety Management Systems preventing and managing psychological health
Review of interacting Human Resource & IR related systems
Quality, audit and review recommendations of existing systems
Preparation of gap analysis and Executive reports
Preparation of mental health strategies
Advice on work design factors for your industry and workplace
Training on psychological health & safety management systems

A mapped out process that explains to you and your workforce the what when and how of psychological health and safety. This is formed through an organisational strategy that has consulted with workers, holds meaning and represents the values of the organisation. Each system has fundamentally consistent principles across all industries, with nuanced processes to maximise risk management practices.

Psychosocial Risk Assessment

Considering all possible psychosocial risks and hazards requires expertise, time and consultation. The range or categories encompass organisational, physical, psychological and environmental facets of an organisation/workplace and they often interact with one and other. Sometimes poor health outcomes become signficiant barriers for individuals to move forward, however, these are a consequence of a poorly managed psychosocial risk or hazard not being managed. It is important to make well considered decisions regarding methods of controlling, monitoring and reviewing risks to worker's mental health. We can offer:

Step-by step guidance and coaching on the psycho-social risk assessment process
Development of a Risk Assessment framework (tools and templates) that is specific to psychosocial risks and hazards
Delivery of focus groups and consultation to assess psychosocial risk
Preparation of risk assessment reports and outcome recommendations
Preparation of meaningful psychosocial risk registers

Regulatory Compliance Advice and Audits

Organisations have a primary duty of care to prevent and manage risks to poor psychological health outcomes.

A safety management system must therefore recognise psychological ill health as an outcome borne from potentially controllable psychosocial risks or hazards. This spans far and wide elements of a PCBU's work practices and fundamentally links to how well work is designed and managed, both physically and psychologically.

Internal and External psychological health & safety systems audit arrangements
Audit and review of legislative compliance (National Model WHS Laws, QLD WHS Act 2011 & NSW WHS Act 2011)
Pre-arranged and targeted psychosocial hazard audit approaches
Preparation of responses to notices and breaches issued by Workplace Health and Safety Inspectors
Incident investigations and advisory service

Psychological Health Incident Investigations

Feeding into a comprehensive psychologically safe system of work is key incident investigation processes. Each organisation much investigate an incident that is reported and has or may (through delayed onset) caused harm to physical or psychological health. External support is often the preferred method of undertaking root cause analysis particular for complex or critical incident outcomes.
Our psychological health consultants are experts at extrapolating systematic and other contributory factors to incident or injury occurrence. An objective incident investigation makes recommendations by identify the causal primary hazard and secondary system factors, assessing and evaluating the risks and applying revised or new controls to prevent recurrence of incidents or injuries - thus protecting individuals and work groups.
We can take the heavy lifting away by providing investigation solutions that enhance your organisation's safety management system.

Stay at Work - Recover/Return to Work

Stay at or return to work services can be outsourced to experts who understand individual and organisational needs and strikes a balance to support object return to work planning. A lot of workers with physical injuries present with secondary mental health concerns that require additional support to help them stay at or return to work.
Whether you require workers' compensation service or non-work-related services - physical or psychological injuries - we are the consultants for you.

Health Monitoring - Psychological 'Stress'

A concept often misunderstood by organisations is the requirement to monitor the psychological health of workers as you would monitor their physical and general health.

Systems used by organisations remain reactive to health reports and not proactive in managing 'stress' or other health related factors that could cause harm to workers.

Some industries undertake specialised health monitoring where risks to health expose workers to harm. For example, the hazard of noise is managed as the health outcome can lead to industrial deafness risks - the health of a worker is therefore monitored through audiometric testing to review their hearing capacity.

Psychological health monitoring is not as objective as this example, but requires a similar systematic methodology to managing psychosocial risks that can lead to stress - and the outcome of stress being assessed and monitored. Strategies in this area can include

Development of health monitoring systems and processes
Psychological health screening tools (templates, questions, 1:1 scripts)
Psychosocial risk assessments identify new or sustained hazards/risks to stress onset or maintenance
Incident investigations and follow ups