Staffordshire Police Federation wellbeing lead Claire Bond has moved a step closer to launching a pioneering network for emergency services personnel who are injured or assaulted while on duty.
Claire and Police Federation national wellbeing lead Belinda Goodwin are hosting a virtual focus group meeting to discuss proposals for the new service and how they would like to see it develop in the future.
Wounded Blue Line will be a one-stop shop which provides injured frontline workers with vital information and advice on issues such as benefit entitlement, what they can claim while off work, what help is available to them and how it can be accessed.
But the network will also create a safe environment for people to talk openly about their own experiences, setbacks and goals.
Claire suffered horrendous injuries when she was rammed by a car when she tried to stop an out-of-control driver near the route of the Stafford 10K in September 2018.
She was run over, dragged along the ground and crushed against a fence and underwent a five-hour operation to save her shattered leg.
Claire has made no secret of the psychological struggles she endured throughout her recovery and the anguish of realising her role as a frontline officer was over.
She is now determined to ensure emergency services personnel who find themselves in similar circumstances can access instant help and advice from a dedicated team so, alongside Belinda came up with the idea of Wounded Blue Line.
She said: “When I was injured and in hospital and then getting better at home we went through quite a lot of learning curves - what benefits we were entitled to, what we could claim for, who could help us etc - but generally I had no one to talk to who had been through anything similar.
“I would like to set up a focus group or a network of people who are injured or have been assaulted at work.
“We have chatted with some people who run a similar programme in the USA and we have come up with Wounded Blue Line, because I want to make sure this is being done properly, not something that’s talked about but never happens.
“Invitations have been sent out to every Police Federation’s branch wellbeing lead and others who might be interested and we’ve already got 70-plus names on the Teams list.
“I am going to do a few slides about what happened to me, why I’d like to do this, what is missing and what I had to find out about myself.
“We will then be discussing how, as a focus group, we would like this sort of network to move forward - leaflets, helplines, a buddy system.
“My vision is for a scheme where as soon as someone is injured we go and see them and take care of them from the very outset.
“I didn’t get that help and we had to work it out as we went along. It is clear from the amount of emails I get that people are still not being taken care of and I think it is about time that they were.
“I want to help people live, not just exist, if they have suffered a serious injury or are assaulted on duty.”
Claire and Belinda will be hosting the first Wounded Blue Line meeting on Teams on Tuesday 6 December and anyone wanting to join can email claire.bond@polfed.org or Bgoodwin@polfed.org.
