THRIVE Cultivating Safe Teams Stakeholder Summit

On Monday 18 November, a large number of stakeholders celebrated a significant milestone—the delivery of tailored, in-workplace psychological health and safety awareness training to 50 veterinary workplaces across Australia.  

Vets, practice managers, corporate supporters and mental health experts came together to mark a crucial step towards a larger vision – how to cultivate a 'veterinary movement' where psychological health and safety becomes a shared commitment embraced by all veterinary professionals. 

^{AVA President Dr Sally Colgan with Diana Barker from the AVA Veterinary Wellness Steering Group}

AVA President Dr Sally Colgan addressed the significance of mental health in the veterinary profession, which was recognised in the recent NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Veterinary workforce shortage in NSW, with 4 recommendations targeted at dealing directly with the mental health issues affecting the profession.   

Dr Colgan also applauded the generous contribution from the Zoetis Foundation to the pilot program, along with the ongoing commitment of all AVA industry partners who have pledged their support. 

^{AVA Veterinary Wellness Steering Group Leader Ben Smith and Aspect Group's Carly Webster}

Carly Webster, whose passion in the belief that “work should not be harmful” saw her travel 51,900km around Australia to deliver the CST workshops, shared insightful outcomes and data gathered so far. With over 700 people having received the training, the positive feedback received is testament to Carly’s expertise and dedication to the initiative.  

“There was such a good focus on practical identification of hazards and what we can do in our workplace. This is the first time I have walked away from a mental health workshop with ideas of what I can do it improve things.” – THRIVE CST participant  

 Looking to the future, the THRIVE Veterinary Wellness Steering Group worked closely with stakeholders to harness feedback and ideas to take CST beyond the pilot phase. 

^{Dr Alicia Kennedy and Jorgen Gullestrup}

Jorgen Gullestrup, an advocate for suicide prevention in the construction industry and a leader in the field of mental health and suicide prevention, rounded out the day with his expertise, personal stories, and learnings from the MATES in Construction industry program. 

Thank you to all who joined us and to everyone involved in this pilot. 

The THRIVE Veterinary Wellness Steering Group is looking forward to sharing the full CST Pilot Program report, with both qualitative and quantitative data, soon. Look out for an online stakeholder event in early 2025, train-the-trainer opportunities and much more – stay tuned!