Priority One staff support service

The Priority One program is the Queensland Ambulance Staff Support program that's been around for over 25 years.

It exists to provide the tools, resources and education necessary for you and your family to look after your well-being. It's available for all QAS staff members and their immediate family members and dependants.

A part of the Staff Support program is a Peer Support program with peer support officers who are across the state who volunteer to take on the additional role of looking after their colleagues. As part of the Peer Support program is also an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Support program and an LGBTIQ+ Support program.

These people have undertaken the Peer Support program, as well as undertaking additional training and resources in order to be able to provide support in these areas.

Augmenting the Peer Support program is a counsellor program with approximately 70 counsellors across the state. As well as the external counsellors, there's a 1800 number. This number is available 24/7, and all you have to do is leave a message on the messaging service to access this.

In addition to the external counselling is an internal counselling network, a small team of counsellors, some of which have a lived experience of working in operational roles.

Also available through the Priority One program is chaplaincy, should people need to access people for spiritual advice or guidance.

As well as providing these services, Priority One provides a number of different education programs from university students, before they undertake their first placement, all the way through to managers and supervisors.

I strongly encourage you to access these services at any time, not just when you're not traveling well. I think it's important to look at your mental health in the same way that you would in accessing your GP or your dentist. It's important sometimes to just go for a checkup and make sure things are okay.