Psychosocial Hazards for Healthcare Workers: Supporting the Second Victim Also Helps the Primary Victims

The psychosocial hazards of healthcare are well-recognized and are now subject to new legislation in Australia. Missing from this discussion has been the recognition of the second victim phenomenon—the distress experienced by healthcare workers involved in an adverse event, medical error or unexpected patient outcome—which appears to meet criteria for a psychosocial hazard. Organizations should ensure support for second victims by building a restorative and just culture, including ensuring all staff are educated on the second victim phenomenon and can support their colleagues, implementing a staff peer-support programme and ensuring that specialist mental health supports, such as an employee assistance programme, are geared towards supporting the second victim.