Wellness Zone

This plenary session will focus on the human factor within emergency services. How the inherent challenges of work in emergency services collide with basic human needs will be discussed. Individual and organizational prevention efforts that may be implemented to enhance wellness and resilience will be described.  

Developed for policing, by policing, Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) offer evidence-based, sector-specific support that's tailored to the unique challenges faced by all police personal. NPWS provide national solutions that help forces deliver consistent, cost-effective wellbeing support, offering direct access to help, guidance, and support for everyone connected to policing.

The presentation will outline what we do and how we do it through our workstreams

The wellbeing of 112/999 telecommunicators is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in staff retention, performance, and service quality. While attention has been given to supporting personnel, less focus has been placed on how wellbeing is addressed during initial training. This presentation argues that preparation for the psychological and physiological demands of emergency communications must begin on day one.

Drawing on experience with training at 112 in Iceland, the presentation explores common reasons why telecommunicators leave emergency communication centers and how these factors can be proactively addressed through initial training. Alongside technical skills and SOP’s, new telecommunicators must be trained in areas such as sleep management, nutrition, resilience, stress awareness and work–life balance.

By normalizing these topics early in training, organizations can better prepare telecommunicators for the realities of the role and foster a healthier and more sustainable workforce. The presentation offers practical perspectives on how wellbeing can be embedded into training programs without compromising operational readiness.

Emergency services staff - from control rooms to the frontline - carry trauma that often goes unseen. Traditional support models rely heavily on talk-based therapies, but for many, repeatedly revisiting traumatic events can intensify distress rather than relieve it. This session presents alternative, evidence-based approaches that help personnel regulate their nervous systems, release tension and reconnect with resilience in practical, non-verbal ways.

Drawing on work with uniformed responders and control room teams, it showcases embodied practices such as equine-facilitated learning and nature-based recovery, which have produced immediate reductions in stress and improved emotional regulation. These case studies challenge the idea that resilience is simply endurance, instead reframing it as adaptability and recovery.

Attendees will learn why traditional trauma support often falls short, how embodied methods can restore calm more effectively, and how these approaches can be integrated into wellbeing strategies to strengthen retention, performance and long-term mental health. For the critical communications sector, supporting staff in this way directly enhances clarity, decision-making and public safety.

This session provides frontline insight into a staff-centred project designed to identify, assess and manage the root causes of work-related stress in control rooms. Led by psychology and human-factors specialists, the Occupational Stress Risk Assessment (OSRA) offers a proactive approach to reducing workplace stress and absence by addressing psychosocial risks before they escalate.

Drawing on collaborative OSRA projects with Fire and Rescue Services and Humberside Police, the session will share key findings, emerging themes and practical recommendations for any organisation with a control room at its core. It will highlight the most prevalent stressors in control environments, the OSRA methodology, and the operational value delivered through early intervention.

Led by experts from the University of Hull’s Centre for Human Factors, with contributions from frontline Fire and Police representatives, this session will offer tangible insights into improving wellbeing, performance and resilience across control room teams.

As digital evidence grows in volume and complexity, digital forensic teams are increasingly exposed to indecent and traumatic material, placing them on the psychological frontline of public safety. This hidden burden carries risks of secondary trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout, yet the wellbeing of these specialists is often overlooked compared to that of traditional first responders.

This SYTECH case study showcases a proactive approach to supporting staff in high-security, high-pressure digital forensics environments. It highlights initiatives such as enhanced sick pay, structured wellbeing programmes, access to psychological support and embedding wellbeing as a cultural priority rather than a procedural requirement. Early outcomes include stronger engagement, greater openness around mental health and improved morale and retention.

For the BAPCO audience, the session offers practical, transferable lessons: understanding the unique pressures of digital forensics, designing effective wellbeing programmes for sensitive roles, and shifting from reactive to proactive support models. The implications for the critical communications sector are clear - safeguarding the mental health of those behind the screens is essential to sustaining resilience, performance and public trust.