Monday Muses~feather ruffling and other issues.
Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson
Founder at Craig's Table- Recipient Summa Comp Laude 2021-22 Recipient Bloom Making a Difference Award 2023
Finally we have an announcement regarding Kathie Melocco Ballina Gee and Shattered
Kathie and Ballina are off to CHOGM and as a part of all they will be doing, Shattered will be launched to high ranking delegates from the 56 Commonwealth of Nations.
CHOGM is the perfect launchpad to highlight the light of the injured worker community here in Australia.
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Over many years people within the workers compensation industry have asked me questions they want/require validated. Over the past few months I have been asked the "have you heard" question in regards to one topic. Psychometric Testing.
I generally wait before I investigate, as it pays not to "jump" to a false conclusion based on panic; what I do is collect what is being asked, note who is doing the asking, and I evaluate the concern being put forward.
As with every other industry workers compensation runs on rumours and innuendo.
Here I will admit I did not put any credence into the question of psychometric testing for members of the injured worker community when it was first put to me. The idea that members of the injured worker community with mental and emotional workers compensation claims could be required via the medico-legal process to do a psychometric test was something that made absolutely no sense at all.
None-the-less I made a note and started the process of monitoring.
One concerned phone call turned into many, then I started the process of attempting to understand just what the concern was based on, I spoke with trusted psychologists who told me that they had heard the rumours but nothing formal from the nominal insurers or the regulators had been received.
Last week though a person who I trust without question asked me the question as part of a concern that a member of injured worker community and an attending psychologist had put forward. The caller like myself could see only damage coming from subjecting any one with mental and emotional workers compensation claims.
I looked through the AMA guidelines. Ethical Guidelines on Independent Medical Assessments - 2010. Revised 2015 I doubt that many members of the injured worker community are given a copy of the published guidelines which can be downloaded for free. The main component from the AMA is to do no further harm.
It seemed to me that the best way to rule in or rule out was to write to the relevant minister simply because members of the injured worker community deserve to know if ministerial approval has been sought.
As everyone knows psychometric testing is used as part of the pre-employment process, it is not a test to determine if a person is resilient or strong enough to ignore workplace bullying or excessive workplace stress, nor is it a test to determine if the injured worker "self-inflicted" the mental or emotional injury.
For now all I can tell you is I have asked the question, it will take "weeks" for a response to come from the ministers Office [the minister never writes his own letters]. As much as you and I both know it is a simple yes or no response, answers from the ministerial level are never straight forward.
PS currently I have 4 letters sitting and waiting for responses.
Technically it is 3 letters as 1 of the letters I did receive a response to and then I corrected the response and now I am waiting for a response to my response.
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I know you have all been reading the updates of Shattered.
I agree with each of you, Shattered could only be put together with private funding, 4 Corners would never commit the time the travel and the research that Kathie Melocco and Ballina Gee have done.
I do know that when Shattered is launched for the first time ever people will get to see parts of the workers compensation industry that they never knew existed or they never thought to question.
One of the most important parts of Shattered is the personal stories, they are raw, there is no glossing over, no shortcuts no hiding the reality of the impact. All of it supported by professional providers who till now have not had a platform to voice their concerns or place their information.
What is interesting is the number of industry people who are attempting to find out just what Shattered will put to air and when the actual launch date is. My response has been and will remain ask Kathie and Ballina.
From my personal point of view it seems to me that people in high places are going to be reaching for the excuse book far more than they have ever done before. And they will be looking for ways to ignore or just ride the fall out from Shattered out. Though Shattered is based in New South Wales the same issues are found Australia wide; thus not one State or Territory can say issues discussed such as the concerns of medico-legal have no impact for them.
I have said for a long time all of this is going to be massive legal minefield when members of the injured worker community discover that they were treated as grist for the mill. I suspect that employers will also be asking uncomfortable questions as will some of the providers/specialists who simply were not aware that their work had been tampered with or fabricated.
Each of us are aware of the big questions:
I have major concerns regarding members of the injured worker community will handle what is be shown, they have been labelled as collateral damage for such a long time now. One major concern I hold is for members of the injured worker community who lost hope resulting in attempted or completed suicide.
Fiduciary duty in all parts of workers compensation must be adhered to, all too often the workers compensation industry believes that the workers compensation legislation is a one-way street.
The evisceration of members from the injured worker community must be stopped effective immediately and then prevented from ever happening again. [I know that evisceration is a harsh word- but it is the best word I can use to describe how far too many people feel simply because they have been labelled as broken and unworthy of regaining open sustainable employment] Every member of the injured worker has the right to return to open employment and they have the right to be respected as they progress through whatever training is required to enable an achievable outcome.
Now it really is just a matter of when the first class action will begin.
Again if you haven't already done so, please sign this Petition; also please pass it on to others in your networks as the Australian people do need the ugly truth of workers compensation exposed.
Recommended by LinkedIn
The days of the current workers compensation process are ending.
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Conferences-Panels-Training-Webinars-Industry Groups
safeTALK Suicide Alertness Training 17 Oct 5-8.30pm Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network Tower A Level 5/197-201 Coward Street Botany NSW 2020
National Health Workforce Summit 21 – 22 October 2024 Swissotel Sydney
Podcast/Radio interview
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It has taken a week, but I am almost back to pre-daylight saving schedule: though I admit I still have not caught up with the lost hour of sleep. It is just annoying to feel out-of-step with the rest of the community.
Yours in service
Rosemary
This week Marlo is in a mellow mood he has sent through one of my all time favourite 70's band Bread.
Ambassador Survivor’s R Us ... Supporting the fight against Domestic Abuse.
2moGood luck, Rosemary.
Retired
2moMany thanks Rosemary for another great read
Senior Consultant at ENJO AUSTRALIA
2moThankyou for all you do