Earlier this month, 2 members of the Merryhill team were given mental health first aid training. The 2-day course, delivered by St John Ambulance was organised to help raise awareness amongst all staff members about the importance of mental health and to promote best-practice across the whole organisation.
The course is designed to give people the skills to have a non-judgmental conversation, recognise the signs and symptoms of common workplace mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the right support.
Mental Health Statistics
The statistics surrounding mental health are worrying and anything we can do as an organisation to improve the situation we believe can only be of benefit.
- 1 out of 6.8 people will experience mental health issues in the workplace
- 1 in 3 people will suffer from depression in their lives
- According to the National Building Specification, mental health issues account for people taking almost 70 million days off sick per year – the most of any health condition – costing the UK economy between £70Bn and £100Bn a year.
- Every year over 400 construction workers commit suicide
Course Feedback
Commenting after the course, Bryan Dart, Operations Manager said:
The 2-day mental health first aid course was a very worthwhile experience and a real eye-opener. Working in a high-hazard environment means we primarily focus on physical health issues and ensuring the safety of our staff, fellow site workers and members of the public.
Our aim is to be a more supportive employer. By giving our teams the facts about mental health and the practical skills to support wellbeing, we are working towards building a healthier and more productive workplace.
Such was the success of the course and feedback received, Merryhill has also decided to boost our awareness of mental health by ensuring all of our asbestos supervisors are trained as mental health champions.
This 1-day course is designed for people to gain a greater awareness of workplace mental health, to detect early symptoms of common mental health illnesses and the skills to support their own and others’ positive wellbeing.
