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The CWU have stepped up massively in addressing attitudes towards towards the whole issue of Mental Health problems as an issue and the stigma being experienced by those suffering from mental health issues. The causes are myriad and no one individual is necessarily suffering the same causation, no indeed the manner ion which the detrimental affects on their mental health is exhibited. Suffice to say that ion our life times, 1 in 4 of us, will at some point suffer from detriment to our mental health. In the North West, the CWU have set up a Mental Health Network as a result of serious concerns being expressed within the Union's health & safety community, around the attitude of employers towards mental health; and latterly the need for Mental Health First Aiders. One of their key pieces of work has been in promoting this week's Mental Health Week, an annual event to focus the public, workers, and employers on the fact that Mental Health problems is a serious issues for all concerned, not least because of the terrible toll of suicides amongst the UK population. With us now living with Covid-19, the stresses upon our mental health caused by the national lockdown, must not be underestimated. It exacerbates conditions such as domestic violence, loneliness, unemployment and homelessness; all of which take a toll on individual mental health. Commenting on the response from CWU Mental Health First Aiders, Jamie said: "Our army of trained Mental Health First aiders have been a 'godsend' over the last 10 weeks during covid19 crisis, they have been exceptional. We always knew they would be ready to step in and support but Wow!
One of the latest documents having been developed by them and the Network is the supportive and informative document on how to support someone with a mental health problem, and how to identify if a work colleagues is suffering a mental health crisis. The document utilises Microsoft's Sway platform and it can be accessed by clicking on the above picture taken from the document. Unionsafety pays tribute to the work being done by Union Safety Reps and mental Health First Aiders, and has reported previously on the work being done by them to help people in the workplace and wider community to find help and support as they struggle with their mental health problems. Source: unionsafety / CWU / TUC |
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For a long time, USRs have recognised the need for appropriate expertise to be developed through specific training on mental health issues and two of the North West's most dedicated safety reps, Jamie McGovern and Mark Holt have been pivotal in setting up the first CWU Mental Health Network, and organising the training in the North West of CWU's Mental Health First Aiders.