#SupportStartsHere - Meet our Mental Health First Aiders

#SupportStartsHere – Meet our Mental Health First Aiders

This month, we are focusing on the importance of our the mental health and well-being support that we offer here at Homecarers Care Services. We have a number of different support outlets for our all of our colleagues to provide them with guidance and reassurance if they are suffering with their mental health, and one of them is support from our Mental Health First Aiders.

So, shall we meet them?

We spoke to Debbie, the Quality Assurance Manager here at our Liverpool branch, and Hayley, the Regional HR Manager at our Chester branch, about the importance of Mental Health First Aiders and the training they are required to complete for their role.

Here is what they had to say:

Debbie

“I received 2 days training at St Johns ambulance – it was intense but very good and extremely rewarding, reminding me of the importance of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA).

I think MHFAs are importance as everyone should have someone to talk to, whether work related or not. It really is good to talk as a problem shared is a problem halved. No one should feel alone in their struggles.”

Hayley

“Every person experiences mental health issues at some point through their life. As a company we need to ensure we have the resources available for all our staff, especially in my role as Regional HR Manager.

Part of my role is dealing with staff sickness, ranging from long term sick to short term sick. I want to ensure I am fully equipped with the skills needed to support someone when needed.

I feel the training to become a Mental Health First Aider will make me more aware of the types of mental health illnesses that people can suffer with and how to recognise changes in behaviour and what to keep an eye on.”

What is the role of Mental Health First Aiders?

Mental Health First Aiders have multiple responsibilities, such as:

Signposting colleagues to appropriate places for support
Keeping staff safe, both mentally and physically
Looking out for signs of ill mental health in staff
Encouraging positivity in the workplace
Being the first point of contact for colleagues suffering with their mental health.

What other support do you offer for mental health support?

TELUS Health

TELUS Health is the Employee Assistance Programme that we use here at Homecarers, offering a range of support such as:

News Feed – Updated every week – similar to an internal Facebook feed, specifically for your company! Keep up to date with what is going on with your branch.
Recognitions – Recognise your colleagues for their outstanding service – perfect for celebrating their hard work, and letting everybody know about it!
Perks/discounts – TELUS offer a range of discounts and cashback on over 100 retailers. Doing some online shopping? Head over to TELUS to see what perks they offer so save that extra bit of cash.
CareNow Programmes – Covering a range of different topics from healthy eating to managing stress, CareNow Programmes are aimed at supporting you with your mental, physical, social and emotional health.
Health Assessments – Want to understand your health on a deeper level? Complete the 4 health assessments that TELUS Health to measure your physical, mental, social and financial health.
Live chat/freephone – Need to speak to someone? Contact TELUS via live chat or freephone to talk about the services that they offer to help support you and your wellbeing.

Care Workers Charity

We are also supportive members of The Care Workers Charity, the only UK charity that aims to support health and social care workers with mental and financial support.

Here is what they offer to our staff members:

Mental health support – you can claim up to 10 free counselling sessions with the charity, which are either held face-to-face or online, based on your preferences.
Crisis grants – These are small sums of money offered to health and social care workers if they experience an unexpected situation that affects their income, such as: A sudden or unexpected loss of income: a sudden or unexpected illness or injury, a sudden or unexpected change in living circumstances or loss of home, a relationship breakdown, an issue of domestic abuse, or death of a close relative.