Soldiers’ checks can be ‘tick and flick’ deal
DEFENCE’S post-deployment mental health screening process has been described as a “tick and flick” exercise which is easy for soldiers to outwit.
The measures in place to detect trauma and deployment-related mental health problems in Australian Defence Force personnel have gone under the microscope as the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide enters its seventh day of hearings in Townsville.
Some personnel with hightempo roles who are deployed on back-to-back deployments can miss out on post-operational psychological screening because they are sent off on another trip before it takes place, the commission has been told.
Joint Health Command director of mental health and strategy Colonel Neanne Bennett gave evidence as part of a panel and drew on her two decades of experience as a psychologist in the army.
She accepted that troops under-reporting mental health problems through the screening process was a “potential concern”.
“I have certainly heard the phrase ‘tick and flick’ previously,” she said.
“The process does require
people to fill in the form and tick so there is an element there that reflects how to complete the form.”
Colonel Bennett said the process involved more than just a form and that mental health professionals assessed the forms and other information to determine if soldiers were healthy.
The commission was told troops underwent two health and mental health screens before leaving, one on return to Australia, but that troops were not screened until they were
I HAVE CERTAINLY HEARD THE PHRASE ‘TICK AND FLICK’ PREVIOUSLY COLONEL NEANNE BENNETT
about to return home unless commanders called in psychology teams following a traumatic incident.
A return to Australia psychological screen is done seven days before troops return home.
Before deploying, personnel take a health screening checklist and had their service records checked for anything of concern, the commission was told.
The checklist includes a handful of questions related to their mental health, including questions about whether they have ever been returned from a deployment due to a mental health issue or if they had accessed mental health services since their last deployment.
Post-operational screening included PTSD and other psychological checks, an alcohol questionnaire, an interview and a briefing.
Troops also complete a traumatic stress exposure scale, the commission was told.
Colonel Bennett could not answer questions from Commissioner Peggy Brown about why troops waited three to six months after their return to undergo mental health screen
ing. “Is there a clear rationale for having two lots of screenings prior to going and then, when you come back, you’ve got the one (just) prior to return and then it is three to six months later?” Commissioner Brown said.
Commissioner Brown said people had told the commission that the system allowed people to come back from deployment and redeploy without undergoing the required post-operational psychological screening.
Colonel Bennett said this happened in some roles.
“There would be some individuals and some roles that if they are deploying frequently would not be required to do a post-operational psychological screening until their last deployment rotation,” Colonel Bennett said.
“If it is likely that they will go in and out of an area of operation a number of times over a six-month period for example; we would not be asking them to do a (screening) after each return.”
Colonel Bennett said screening in these cases would commence after the final trip.