Addiction

Alcohol and drugs

Australia alcohol | 24/7 support through Alcoholics Anonymous Australia on 1300 22 22 22

Australia drugs | 24/7 support through Narcotics Anonymous Australia on 1300 652 820

Aotearoa NZ alcohol | 24/7 support through Alcoholic Anonymous New Zealand on 0800 229 6757

Aotearoa NZ drugs | 24/7 support through Narcotics Anonymous New Zealand on 0800 628 632

Gambling

Australia | 24/7 support through Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858 and Gamblers Anonymous Australia on 02 9726 6625

Aotearoa NZ | 24/7 support through Gamblers Anonymous New Zealand or call the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655

Anxiety and depression

Australia | 24/7 support through Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636

Aotearoa NZ | 24/7 support through depression.org.nz on 0800 111 757

Financial hardship

The Medical Benevolent Association assists medical practitioners and their families in financial hardship.

General advice and support

Australasian Doctors Health Network | Advisory service for doctors, medical students and their families and colleagues.

Doctor’s Health Advisory Service (DHAS) | Provides confidential advice to doctors and medical students on stress and mental illness, drug and alcohol problems, personal and financial difficulties.

Mind Tools | Resources to help reduce stress in your environment

RMHive App, iPhone | Tips, advice and tools designed to keep you mentally prepared and on-track during COVID-19 and beyond

Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners | Self-care guidebook for medical practitioners (PDF)

Standford Medicine WellMD | General health and wellbeing for doctors, including a list of anonymous online self-test sites

UCLA Health: Coping with shift work | Overcoming sleep problems caused by non-traditional work schedules

Ward, H.S., 2020, Optimizing resilience and wellbeing for healthcare professions trainees and healthcare professionals during public health crises – Practical tips for an ‘integrative resilience’ approach, Medical Teacher

Australia

If you need immediate support, call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14.

AMA Victoria Peer Support Service | Offers a listening ear and referrals to appropriate expert services, for doctors by doctors in Victoria. Available 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week on 1300 853 338

Australian Medical Association DRS4DRS | Independent, safe, supportive and confidential advisory and referral service

Australian Medical Association (NSW) Doctors for Colleagues | Registry of General Practitioners who are are happy to take on colleagues as patients

Black Dog Institute Health professional resources | Assist with diagnosis, treatment and capacity building

Beyond Blue Health Services Program | Aims to address the prevalence of depression, anxiety and suicide in Australian medical students and doctors

Blue Knot Foundation | Empowers recovery and builds resilience for adults impacted by complex trauma

Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges | Unifying organisation for the specialist Medical Colleges of Australia

Health and Wellbeing of Junior Doctors | Run by junior doctors to negotiate some of the difficulties other junior doctors have faced since graduation

Lifeline Information and support | Information to help you understand the challenges you or a person you care for may be facing and where to go for help

Aotearoa New Zealand

If you need immediate support, call Lifeline New Zealand on 0800 543 354.

New Zealand Medical Association | Advisory service to assist on a variety of issues, including staff employment and running a practice. Members and families of deceased members may apply for aid in situations of financial hardship or distress from the Medical Benevolent Society. Contact on 0800 656 161

Te ORA Māori Medical Practitioners Association | Represents Māori medical students, doctors and medical practitioners working as clinicians, specialists, researchers and teachers. Contact on 0800 483 672

International

Physician health matters | Mental health strategy for physicians in Canada.

Medical indemnity agencies

There are a range of medical indemnity agencies across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand that provide support services and counselling programs to their members.

Remote and rural services

Bush Support Services

CRANAplus runs Bush Support Services and offers personalised care for remote health workers. It includes a Bush Support Line, stress management workshops, self-care publications and guidelines.

The Bush Support Line is a confidential helpline staffed by registered psychologists who have experience in working in remote and rural areas. The service is tailored to each individual and their situation, with the capacity for repeat callers to speak to the same psychologist. Callers are not required to be CRANAplus members and the support line is open to spouses and family members of remote health workers.

Contact the Bush Support Line, open 24/7 in Australia, on 1800 805 391.

Rural Family Medical Network

The Rural Medical Family Network assists the spouses and families of doctors and medical students when moving to rural locations in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA.

Rural Medical Family Network services vary each state but generally include:

• family and kids programs at CPD conferences
• grants to facilitate face-to-face networking of medical spouses, partners and families
• spouse retraining and/or education grants
• newsletters
• crisis assistance for rural doctors and their families who are stressed or ill
• gatherings to lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation

Rural Doctors Workforce Agency and Dr DOC program

The Rural Doctors Workforce Agency (RDWA) provide opportunities to access CPD activities, financial assistance, and a Dr DOC (duty of care) program, which supports rural GPs in South Australia to take care of themselves, their families and their colleagues.

Financial support includes:

• GP Rural Incentives Program
• professional support subsidy to enable rural GPs to access CPD opportunities
• spouse employment assistance grant
• relocation support subsidy
• rural female GP pre-school childcare subsidy

Dr DOC is a confidential service linking rural GPs to a range of rural and city based doctors for general health care. The program and services work across the full spectrum of health care, from prevention and early intervention, to acute or chronic situations. A phone helpline is also available if there is a crisis.

The RDWA also offers assistance to the partners and children of doctors in a variety of ways, including helping families settle into a new community and connect to the local people and services.

Contact the Dr DOC helpline in South Australia on 08 8234 8277.