Commissioner Update

It is with terrible sadness that my column again must address grief and loss, this time in relation to the horrific attacks carried out in Christchurch to our Muslim communities.

Our thoughts and love are foremost with the victims of the attacks, their families and those who were targeted. Sadly members of our DHB staff are among those directly affected by the events, and we offer them our total support. To our wider Muslim community, please know that the health care system is here for you and all our staff are committed to your care and safety.

And to all the people of the Southern district, we share your disbelief and horror that such an attack could occur in our community. The grief, anger and shock many of us are experiencing is normal and understandable. This is a time when we all need to take care of ourselves, and each other. If you need additional support, please do call or text the free ‘Need to Talk’ service on 1737 to be put through to a counsellor any time of the day or night.

Southern DHB has offered its support to our colleagues in Canterbury and we remain on standby and are willing to assist as needed. We acknowledge and applaud the tremendous efforts of all our emergency and health care colleagues in Christchurch, and wider agencies, as they face another terrible challenge.

Below is some advice our Canterbury DHB colleagues are sharing around supporting children during these sad and confusing times - which I am pleased to pass on.

Supporting our kids and whānau

• Children take their cues off parents, so if you’re okay, they’ll be okay too. Be mindful how much ‘worry’ you’re displaying

• Limit exposure to media

• Answer their questions pretty matter-of-factly and in very ‘general’ terms. You don’t have to get the answers exactly right here. Ensure you talk too about the police and how they did a really good job of keeping us safe. But keep the reassurance low key too — over-reassuring can make us think we need to be worrying more than we are!

• Let them talk about it, but don’t let it ‘take over’ - use distraction to keep their mind off it

• Stick to your normal routines as much as you can.