Safer Care Victoria (SCV) is supporting Victorian healthcare services to implement the Zero Suicide Framework (ZSF), as recommended by the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. As part of this work, our team is developing training for the clinical and non-clinical healthcare workforce that aligns to principles of the framework.
The free training suite will complement existing health service training and address identified gaps. The goal is to provide accessible training that builds the capability of all healthcare staff to deliver sensitive, trauma-informed care, ultimately enhancing the consistency and quality of health services in aligning to training principles of the ZSF across Victoria.
Scoping activities involved consultations with healthcare services and suicide prevention experts to identify the diverse training needs across the health sector, and to assess available training resources. Findings revealed significant gaps, particularly for culturally responsive and intersectional approaches to suicide prevention and response care, and training for Lived Experience Workforces. We also identified a scarcity of gatekeeper training for non-clinical staff, and limited training focused on supporting young people and older adults.
In response, an advisory group was established to guide the development of the training suite, ensuring training is culturally relevant and meets the needs of the workforce. Targeted co-design working groups were formed to authentically engage and listen to diverse perspectives and create specific content relevant to Victorians. The training suite will be offered in a tiered manner and can be tailored to meet the varied roles and context of each worker.
This presentation will benefit an audience interested in suicide prevention and response training development and co-design training development. We will explore the training packages developed and the next steps in delivery and evaluation.