Trauma Response Team

After a period of training and preparation we now have a newly formed TRAUMA RESPONSE TEAM. This exciting new development is coordinated by Rosemary Corke, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, assisted by a core planning team from within the Department of Psychological Therapies.

In total, a team of 20 workers have brought together experience from working in a diverse range of services across Shropshire's Community and Mental Health NHS Trust e.g Ambulance Service, Primary Care, Learning Disabilities and the Child and Family Service.

We offer a crisis intervention service to staff who have been involved in a traumatic incident during the course of their work. This may be a CRITICAL INCIDENT involving a small group of staff. For example, two ambulance staff attending a cot death; a team of nursing staff witnessing a serious assault on a ward.

We may also be called to respond to a MAJOR INCIDENT involving larger numbers
of staff from a range of services. For example, ambulance staff and Accident and Emergency staff responding to a train crash which necessitates a major rescue operation.

The service offered by the team is CONFIDENTIAL and INDEPENDENT.
It is not part of any incident review or investigation.

Our focus is on assisting people in the short term (i.e over the first few days following an
incident) to meet together and to promote healthy coping by -
1 Acknowledging that staff have engaged in work that is distressing
2 Enabling staff to clarify the facts of an incident in order to make sense of what happened
3 Helping people process a range of different reactions to the incident
4 Helping staff build on existing coping skills and to support each other

As our team develops our current aims are to …
liaise with existing Psychological Therapies services and Social Services Departments to
help to coordinate support and advice for victims and relatives of a Major Incident.
recruit and train more staff to join the team

For further details contact Rosemary Corke or Alex Gillespie (Administrator)
130 Abbey Foregate
Chaddeslode House Port Cabins/The Greenhouse
Shrewsbury SY2 6AX
01743 341924 Fax: 01743 352210

Annual Report 2002-2003

Links
A good self-help leaflet about coping with post-trauma problems can be found on
the Northumberland Mental Health Trust 's self-help leaflets section of their website.
(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the leaflets).

(Page compiled by Marilyn Owens, Clinical Psychologist, Trauma Response Team )