This week - 9th – 15th May -  is Mental Health Awareness Week. The annual event is an opportunity to discuss all aspects of mental health, with the main focus being access to help and advice.

Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Just like our physical health, it can change, and we experience ups and downs, which is why it's important to start conversations about it.

This Year’s Theme
During the past two years, loneliness has had a significant impact on many people’s mental health. It is not just about time we spend alone but is the feeling we experience when there is a mismatch between the social connections we have and those we need or want. When it is chronic or long-term, it can have a detrimental effect on our wellbeing.

One of the lessons we have learned from the pandemic is how much we need connection with loved ones, family and friends. Loneliness continues to be one of the key indicators of poor mental health, and we all have a part to play in reducing it in our communities.

What We’re Doing as an Organisation
The wellbeing of our colleagues is at the heart of everything we do, which is why we’ve introduced our new wellbeing action plan. We want to support our people to speak openly about their wellbeing and identify and address the causes of workplace stress.

Like many others, a number of our colleagues have been working remotely and are now returning to the office. To support hybrid working, we’re redesigning our workspaces to create an environment that encourages collaborative working.

Within our NHS 111 contact centres, we introduced the Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) process to support colleagues who are exposed to traumatic situations. The system allows peers to understand the reactions to traumatic incidents and conduct structured risk assessments, to identify people who need an early referral to qualified medical support. Following the success in our contact centres, we'll be extending this support to our Out of Hours colleagues.

We’ve improved access to counselling, for our colleagues, through our Employee Assistance Programme. This provides free 24/7 access to qualified counsellors and advisors who can help with a wide range of issues including legal, financial, health and family issues.

Earlier this year we gave the opportunity for our colleagues to join an eight-week Mind Health Journey programme, which covered topics such as modern life, emotions, self-talk and human instinct. We look forward to running the programme again later in the year.

Physical wellbeing is closely linked to mental wellbeing, which is why we want to support our colleagues and promote positive physical health. Using the Strava fitness app, we’ve created a community where colleagues can encourage each other in their fitness endeavours with challenges throughout the year.

This Friday, 13th May, we'll be celebrating Wear it Green Day. The green ribbon is the International symbol of mental health awareness, so we've asked our colleagues to wear something green whether it's a small touch or head to toe. Anyone can join in and donate online here or by texting GREEN to 70500 to donate £3.

Further advice and support
If you’re concerned about your own mental health or the mental health of a loved one, having the right information is vital.

Please see the below resources for more information and help:

Mind
Samaritans
Shout Crisis Text Line