CANBERRA, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Australian first responders are in need of increased mental health support, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.
In its submission to the Senate education and employment committee, the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists (RACP) called for routine health and wellbeing checks to be implemented for emergency service workers.
"In Australia, there are more than 80,000 full-time emergency workers who perform a vital role in protecting and providing emergency assistance to other citizens," the submission, published by News Corp Australia on Saturday, said.
"As a result of their work, these Australians operate under very difficult working conditions and are regularly exposed to potentially traumatic experiences.
"There is increasing awareness and concern for the possible consequences of prolonged and repeated exposure to trauma.
"Evidence shows that large numbers of emergency workers experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and will be at risk for other mental health conditions."
The Senate committee has been charged with delivering recommendations so that governments and employers can protect and support first responders.
According to a 2017 Australian Federal Police (AFP) report 25 percent of emergency services workers experienced moderate to high levels of distress.
Sandy McFarlane, an expert at the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies at the University of Adelaide, said that removing the stigma around mental health issues was key.
"The very nature of these occupations is that it requires people to deny their own fears and apprehensions and to walk towards danger. People's personality characteristics in some regards tend to make these individuals ignore their own health concerns," he wrote in his submission.
"This, in turn, is reflected in the work culture of toughness and coping, which then leads to, at times, a lack of sensitivity to those who begin to struggle. The prejudice implicit in many workers' compensation systems tends to harbour and encourage this stigma and prejudice."
