AAR’s role in reducing stress among ‘second victims’: blog from Judy Walker (27 June 2022)

Summary

Reducing stress is an organisational imperative since workplace pressures continue to be one of the main causes of short and long-term absence. According to research undertaken by CIPD based on responses from 804 organisations, 79% of respondents report some stress-related absence in their organisation over the last year. Healthcare settings have an even higher rate of absence due to stress, yet there is reason to be optimistic that this could start to change when a new policy from NHS England is implemented, which recommends the use of After Action Review (AAR). In this blog, Judy Walker explains how AARs can play a key role in reducing stress for those who have been involved in clinical incidents.