Latest News
Workplace mental health first aid
Thursday 15 October 2009
Area: All areas
An innovative pilot project is being launched in Wiltshire to provide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) in the workplace.
Wiltshire Council is working with Selwood Housing and NHS Wiltshire to support people experiencing depression, anxiety and other mental health problems in the work environment.
The aims of the pilot project are to enhance staff awareness of mental health issues, develop their ability to identify signs of mental health problems and provide guidance on what steps to take when people begin to experience such problems.
Around 60 members of staff from the three organisations will take part in the pilot that will start in late October. The results of the scheme will then be evaluated by researchers from the University of Bath.
The two-day course provides people with practical knowledge and information on a range of topics such as the signs of depressions and anxiety, crisis first aid for panic attacks, and how to support people experiencing these conditions prior to professional involvement.
It is hoped the course will increase awareness of mental health issues, and enable those who take part to offer support to colleagues who may not recognise their own feelings as a potential problem or illness.
Daniel Lyus, Wiltshire Council mental health commissioning manager, said: First aid prevents a cut getting worse, we use it when we start to get a cold, or twist an ankle, but a great number of us don’t know what to do if we, or those around us, start to feel down, depressed or unable to cope, or worried about relationships, money or perhaps start drinking too much.
These feelings could be the start of something more serious, and Mental Health First Aid training aims to give us access to some mental rather than physical first aid to prevent these feelings growing into something more serious.
Up until now there has been no research into whether the training can help to improve well being, understanding and productivity in the workplace. This project will aim to overcome this by using a robust research evaluation to determine if the training increases the confidence and ability of staff to deal appropriately with mental health issues. If successful we hope that the training will become more widely used by employers.”
Maggie Rae, joint director for public health, said: "Every year, NHS Wiltshire participates in the national NHS staff survey. The 2008 staff survey showed that, overall, 32 per cent of staff had experienced work-related stress, and that rates were higher amongst our community staff. We are keen to support our staff and improve their health and wellbeing which is why we are taking part in this project. We hope that it will enable line managers to identify staff that are struggling at an early stage and encourage them to seek support before they become ill and that it will also enable staff to support their patients more effectively too.”
Barry Hughes, chief executive of Selwood Housing said: Staff from our care and support teams who provide services to our older and vulnerable customers will be taking part in this first round of training. Being a part of this study will hopefully improve not only our services but the health of our customers and even our staff. If successful we will be looking to extend the training to all of our front line staff.”
Last updated: Thursday 15 October 2009