A party program to challenge students at the Busselton Health Campus was created to offer teens a program to prevent alcohol and risk related trauma in youth.
The Busselton Health Campus is currently offering the Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (PARTY) program experience for high school students.
Students in Years 10 to 12 have been invited to be part of a program, which was designed to promote injury prevention through reality education.
The aim is to enable youth to recognise risks and make informed choices about activities and behaviours.
WA Country Health Service South West Health Promotion Officer Hannah Thomas said the PARTY program increased students awareness of their personal responsibility and demonstrated the impact risky behaviour had on quality of life for the individual and the community.
Ms Thomas said unfortunately, statistics showed that motor vehicle and motor bike accidents made up 61 per cent of major trauma in 15 to 24 year-olds in 2016, and of that, 71 per cent were males.
“The PARTY program enables teenagers to experience the journey of a trauma patient at the Busselton Hospital Emergency Department, including a tour and a series of presentations from doctors, nurses and allied health staff in each area,” she said.
“Students will also be involved in a role-play activity to experience some of the difficulties injury survivors face and the session concludes with an interactive discussion with an injury survivor at the health campus.”
The program was established in 1986 in Canada as a result of high numbers of preventable trauma incidents observed there.
The licensed program has been operational in WA Country Health Service Bunbury and Albany, and is now being offered as a pilot in Busselton.
The first session was held last week, with students from Busselton Senior High School attending. Other schools in the area are encouraged to sign up to the PARTY program at the Busselton Health Campus.
