Summary of the needs expressed by HCWs, proposed implementation strategies and the relevant service enhancements
| Identified need | Implementation proposal | Related service enhancements |
| Privacy is paramount. Services must exist outside Employee Assistance Programs* and Medicare† to avoid colleagues or employers knowing. | Ensure treatment, records and billing are separate from and service that requires third party reporting. | Expression of interest in the clinical consultation service to be captured via the TEN website, intake and treatment to be completed by the same BDI clinician, records kept in encrypted health software accessible only by TEN staff. |
| HCWs are highly concerned about being reported to the AHPRA if they disclose mental health difficulties. | Digital resources to include clear information about the circumstances under which AHPRA reports are made | Creation of a detailed FAQs section on the website that outlines mandatory reporting requirements, with direct links to AHPRA guidelines |
| HCWs want 24/7 access to resources and services that offer clear solutions that they can find quickly and anonymously. | Consult user-experience experts to design for rapid access. Digital resources must include solution-focused recommendations and include plain-language descriptions to facilitate quick decision-making. | Develop new resources that reflect primary needs/concerns discussed in consultations and clearly label website sections according to the problem or need they address; shallower website structure to optimise digital wayfinding |
| Not just digital; HCWs need a flexible, affordable, confidential, person-to-person consultation service that understand their needs and can help with a broad range of concerns. | No-cost clinical consultation service to offer multiple sessions with the same clinician without restriction on content or therapeutic modality. | All users eligible for up to five free consultations. Clear web/comms explaining that consultations can address acute stress and/or ongoing challenges; include clinician profiles on website so consumers can identify who they will be speaking to. |
| HCWs more often report burnout, compassion fatigue, failures in organisations systems, etc, rather than anxiety or depression. HCWs want to help both themselves and their colleagues manage these challenges. | Expand resources to address challenges as HCWs see them, including both individual and team-based resources focusing on burnout, moral injury and helping colleagues. Broaden mental health messaging beyond ‘symptoms’ and ‘mental illnesses’. | Develop new resources using HCW language (eg, burnout) to address non-diagnostic distress (eg, moral injury). New resources for team leaders. Web/comms messaging to refer to psychological distress in terms of ‘burnout’ and ‘stress’. |
*Employee assistance programmes are brief mental healthcare services provided free of charge by many Australian employers.
†Medicare is Australia’s universal health insurance scheme. Access to services is recorded against an individual’s centralised health record that may be accessible by other health practitioners.
AHPRA, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency; HCW, healthcare worker; TEN, The Essential Network.