Mental health first aiders

Mental health awareness aims to tackle the stigma and provide people with the opportunity to understand and prioritise their own mental health and that of others. It aims to increase public understanding and educate tools to prevent a mental health crisis.

Last week, St Joseph’s Hospital were proud to welcome St John’s Ambulance to the hospital to complete a two-day mental health first aid course for managers. The two-day course enabled managers to become qualified workplace mental health first aiders and provided them with the expertise to spot signs of what could be a common mental health problem, as well as symptoms associated with substance abuse. St John’s Ambulance taught the team practical skills needed to support someone experiencing a mental health crisis and how to continuously contribute to improving their wellbeing. 

Mental health is important to the workplace. If a colleague has poor mental health or is navigating emotional distress, this can have an impact on the way they communicate with their team members and/or management. It can also impact their day-to-day activities and ability to carry out their role. Physical health is significant to employees, and here at St Joseph’s Hospital we see mental health being equally as important and want our teams to feel valued and confident within the workplace.

By training teams members with mental health first aid, we aim to provide a safe space for our colleagues and an opportunity to support our teams using the knowledge and training received by St John’s Ambulance.