Our Registered Care Manager, Harriett has recently qualified as our Mental Health First Aider.

Not only do we focus on providing Outstanding care to our clients, we also care for our staff. Without such a wonderful team, we wouldn’t be able to offer the services we do.

It’s important to us that our team know we take their wellbeing seriously and we want to be able to help them whichever way we can.

There’s the old saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup” and it’s never been more true than in the care sector.

Whether it’s just needing an ear to listen, or needing someone to take action in your time of need, we feel it’s important that we have someone qualified to take on that role.

Harriett went on a two day course which included a mix of presentations, discussions and group work activities. The courses are delivered by a quality assured instructor who is accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health.

In general, the role of a Mental Health First Aider in the workplace is to be a point of contact for an employee who is experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress. This interaction could range from having an initial conversation through to supporting the person to get appropriate help. As well as in a crisis, Mental Health First Aiders are valuable in providing early intervention help for someone who may be developing a mental health issue.

As our Mental Health First Aider, Harriett is trained to spot the signs of ill mental health, perhaps even before someone has recognised it themself. That way, Harriett may be able to prevent burnout, work overload, anxiety or emotional distress in the workplace. Harriett can also signpost you to the appropriate support if that’s what is needed.

Mental Health is becoming more talked about in the media, in the community, amongst friends and family and in the workplace. The aim of having a Mental Health First Aider in an organisation is to reduce the stigma of poor mental health, to promote communication and wellbeing, with the hope of reducing sickness absence due to mental health illness.

We’re really proud of Harriett for completing the course, not only to better herself but to better what we offer to our team.

We’re also really proud as a company to pay such attention to our team and their wellbeing.