De-fusing or de-briefing?

The debate goes on over the effectiveness of trauma de-briefing using clinical psychologists.  This follows the Cochrane report and with the British Medical journal publishing the Kenardy report (click here for report) into critical incident de-briefing. Both these reports claim it does not have the effect that it promotes. For a copy of the more in-depth Cochrane report contact us here.

However, there have been just as many papers published promoting the technique.  They point to the rapid effect it has on assisting recovery and also the positive impact it has on the person receiving counselling.  This is in terms of their view of the incident, the people and the companies involved.

What is vital in those first few days after a traumatic incident is that  affected people  receive 'trauma de-fusing' or what we call "psychological first aid".  This can be carried out at a lower level and a lower cost than psychological de-briefing.

De-fusers are people qualified in grief, bereavement, rape and fatal trauma.  They can provide the necessary 'emotional' and 'practical' support to people affected by traumatic incidents. They act as a shoulder to cry on, expert listeners and are very experienced in their field. They can take the strain away from your own staff so they can get on with any behind the scenes arrangements.

Based on our own first hand experience and to suit our clients needs, docleaf^® provides a service to cater for this requirement.  You can take advantage by despatching lower cost 'de-fusers' from the docleaf^® 'care team' to the scene.   For reassurance, all are team are members of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.  These 'care team' personnel can save you up to 50% off the cost of a qualified trauma psychologist.   This can be significant if you are deploying a number of the team or if they are providing support for a number of days.

Nonetheless, some situations can still require the expert 'trauma psychologist'.  Their support can often be more effective in face to face sessions or by phone when your customers or staff are safely back at home with their family and friends. It is generally only after a longer period that it becomes apparent whether people require more specialist support from a qualified psychologist. The docleaf^® 'trauma specialists' are available to provide this service anywhere in the UK or via our 24 hr helpline to any customers or staff who require it.

If you are looking to send support to the incident, then give us a call.  We can advise you on which of the two services, (the docleaf^® 'care team' or the docleaf^® 'trauma specialists') are appropriate for the incident you are experiencing.

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Hotel and other supplier safety audits overseas

docleaf^® are now in a position to carry out safety assessment's of suppliers overseas with a growing team of overseas based health & safety managers and UK based staff who can travel out to resort. The docleaf^® audit and risk tool (dART™) system provides a comprehensive audit protocol for fire, pool, hygiene and general safety.  It has been developed to cover the EU Fire safety recommendations, EU Food safety directive and current 'good practice' standards in pool and general safety.

The requirements of the package travel regulations do mean that any company 'packaging' holidays has to accept the liability of its third party suppliers overseas. Therefore your only real legal defence against any civil or criminal claims is by having a robust 'due diligence' system in place.  this should include an approved system of safety auditing your suppliers.

Many companies simply don't allocate sufficient resources to this area.  It is put into the 'too difficult' box or an 'overhead' that brings no financial reward. That is, until you experience an incident where you, your staff and your company are suddenly exposed to criminal investigation, media attention and the personal trauma of the courtroom.

docleaf^® can help to start you along the path to getting your house in order, with cost effective solutions based on our in depth experience of overseas health & safety.

If you want a chat or would like someone from the docleaf^® team to come and visit you and talk through the various options then please get in touch.

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Crisis Simulations

If you want to test your crisis plans and procedures, then nothing is better than a full blown 'simulation', Using our network of specialists docleaf^® can put your team under immense pressure.  This includes real life scenarios backed up with calls from distressed relatives, media, victims, government and other officials.

A recent simulation of a derailment of 'Eurostar' on route to Brussels with serious injuries and fatalities for an American travel company.  This put their whole incident team under tremendous strain. However, as they had well prepared plans, with procedures in place all put together with help from docleaf^®, they coped fantastically well on the day. There was still some learning of course and the necessary amendments are being made to their procedures but we'd like to share the thoughts of their Chief Executive:

"We appreciate the support that docleaf^® has provided over the years - you have made us a better organization in a number of ways.  And I personally enjoy meeting with you"

If you want to test your company then do please get in touch, our service ranges from simple table top exercises to the full blown simulation, so can suit most companies individual needs and budget.

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