World Mental Health Day, Founded by the World Federation for Mental Health is celebrated every year on October 10th. This year’s official theme of World Mental Health Daywas
‘It is Time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace’
A theme which we thought was so important in our sector. As most people who work in Adult Social Care, do so because they are naturally caring individuals. And these are individuals most likely to prioritise others over their own needs. And these are also the individuals most likely to suffer from self-doubt, stress overloading and burnout.
As a sector made up of naturally caring individuals we must remind each other often to remember that we cannot neglect our own needs.
The OS is committed to raising awareness and supporting the sector on this crucial issue.
As part of our Learning Lounge at The Care Show, Birmingham we asked delegates and visitors one important question.
“What support does your workplace provide, or what do you wish would be provided to support your mental health”
Thank you to everyone who got involved either physically or digitally through Slido.
The good news is that almost all posts spoke of wonderful work going on in various locations.
Linsey Bower, Manager at Moorpark House told us of “staff led committees, ‘you said we did’, wellness action plans, occupational health, private counselling”
Anita Astle MBE, MD, Wren Hall Nursing Home said: “We offer wellbeing support to staff, residents and relatives. We have 16 Mental Health First Aiders, 1 Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) and a Wellbeing Team”
Mental Health First Aiders were mentioned in many of the submissions, which is wonderful to read. Mental Health First Aiders, also known as an MHFAiders®, are crucial to helping boost and support employee wellbeing.
Mental Health First Aiders develop the skills to spot the signs of a person experiencing poor mental health, and the confidence to start a conversation. They also learn about the tools to signpost them to appropriate support. We’re delighted to see so many organisations are already involved in this training.
Many also utilise Mental Health apps and phonelines to support staff remotely and 24/7.
Minnie Khatra, Bluebird Care, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham East told us:
“We undertake Wellbeing Action Plans for all staff”
So, what is a Wellbeing Action Plan? Mind charity tells us: Wellness Action Plans are a personalised, practical tool we can all use – whether we have a mental health problem or not – to help us identify what keeps us well at work, what causes us to become unwell, and how to address a mental health problem at work should you be experiencing one. It also opens up a dialogue with your manager or supervisor, in order for them to better understand your needs and experiences and ultimately better support your mental health, which in turn leads to greater productivity, better performance and increased job satisfaction.
You can find out more on Mind website here:
https://www.mind.org.uk/media/lbahso3x/mind-wellness-action-plan-workplace.pdf
So with so much good practice going on, were there any wants on people’s minds?
One person wrote
“I do feel that we would benefit from more internal training around compassion fatigue.”
CompassionFatigue.org website says “Studies confirm that caregivers play host to high levels of compassion fatigue. Day in, day out, workers struggle to function in caregiving environments that constantly present heart-wrenching, emotional challenges”
So what can be done to support those suffering from compassion fatigue?
CFAP Founder Patricia Smith’s TEDx Talk: How to Manage Compassion Fatigue in Caregiving gives some insights and strategies. https://youtu.be/7keppA8XRas
Some other wishes included – the implementation of mental health days, clearer information and support for managers to support teams with mental health and coping mechanisms, and face to face training with support for employees in mental health crisis.
With an overall positive view on mental health in the workplace from those who spoke with us, we hope this shows that the sector is actively working on supporting mental health.
The Care Quality Commission’s new Single Assessment Framework requires providers to show:
We care about and promote the wellbeing of our staff, and we support and enable them to always deliver person centred care.
There is lots of information on the CQC website under “Best practice guidance” here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/providers/assessment/single-assessment-framework/caring/workforce-wellbeing-enablement
Also our friends at Skills for Care also have a wealth of resources to support managers and staff here: https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Support-for-leaders-and-managers/Managing-people/Wellbeing/Wellbeing.asp
Skills for Care say “Stress and burn-out are real issues for adult social care staff and with the added challenges and restrictions of the pandemic, workforce wellbeing has never been so important”
World Mental Health Day may be over for another year but it’s something we must be open to discussing and supporting every day.
We hope to continue the conversation in the near future.
If you’d like to share your thoughts or best practices with others please get in touch at comms@theoutstandingsociety.co.uk
