This month, the NHS launched their new Mental Health campaign using the iconic Beatles song ‘Help!’ – the main aim of this campaign is to get the nation taking better care of their mental health.

This campaign is backed by some of the UK’s biggest artists, and it will encourage people struggling with their mental health to seek support and use NHS talking therapies.

Since the start of the pandemic 2.3 million people have come forward for NHS talking therapies due to mental health concerns. More recent data shows that over 50% of people in the UK were concerned about their mental health last year alone, around half experienced stress, anxiety, low mood or depression, and the majority did not seek professional help. This campaign encourages people to come forward and see how getting access to trained experts can help.

“The pandemic has taken a toll on the nation’s mental health, and we know January can be a particularly tough month for many. Over a million people already use NHS talking therapies every year, but we know we can help millions more just by telling them it’s there for them and that is exactly what this campaign is all about. If you are experiencing anxiety, stress, or are feeling low, it’s important you know you are not alone and that it is okay to get help. No one should suffer in silence. NHS staff have pulled out all the stops throughout the pandemic to keep mental health care services open, and it’s fantastic to see some of the biggest names in music back our campaign and encourage people to get the support they need.” – NHS Mental Health Director, Claire Murdoch

How are you embedding the ‘Help!’ campaign into your organisations culture?
It is important that as an organisation, you make sure that your employees know the ways they can get referred if they are struggling with their mental health. It is also important to remind people that asking for help is not a bad thing.

If this awareness is raised within your organisation then your employees are more likely to spot signs of mental health deteriorating in their colleagues and in the people they provide care and support to. They will become more in tune to noticing the signs and be able to encourage others to get help too.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, talks about how people who use their services have been affected by the pandemic and the impact it has had on their mental health. This is likely to be the case in a lot of Social Care organisations.

“This campaign could not be coming at a better time. The mental health of many older people has taken a real battering during the pandemic and we hope that this new initiative will encourage everyone who could do with some support to reach out and ask for it. ‘A problem shared is a problem halved as they say – it’s good to talk and there’s no reason for anyone to feel embarrassed or ashamed because they are feeling very low. We’ve all been through a lot these last twenty months, many older people more than most.” – Age UK’s Charity Director, Caroline Abrahams

By helping your employees to maintain positive mental wellbeing, it will directly influence the workplace culture you have and in turn the retention of staff within your organisation. Here are 2 ways to improve wellbeing and maintain a positive culture within your organisation:

• Make sure staff have sufficient time off to rest and recuperate, it is important to help promote a positive leadership, as well as helping minimise staff burnout which can affect their mental health and wellbeing. To do this you can rely on a trusted agency partner to provide temporary support ensuring continuity of staffing is maintained while your permanent staff members are taking time off.
• Create safe spaces where staff trust that they can be honest in feeding back what it is really like to work for the organisation. Give staff the opportunity to identify barriers and encourage discussion to build rapport, empathy and understanding. Engage a task force within your organisation to review the barriers and develop solutions, this way changes start to stick as your staff become self-managing through supporting their colleagues to accept change.

To watch the ‘Help!’ campaign video, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa4I3mr9jX4

If you would like to discuss the above, or about how we can collaborate, please let us know. To get in touch, email recruitment@ajrecruitment.com or call us on 03305 552233.

As a specialist, family-run recruitment business, we provide a proactive and consultative approach to recruitment within Social Care. We help organisations to target issues such as continuity of staffing, reducing spend where you have a high volume of agency usage and supporting those who have specific talent requirements or are in hard to fill locations. We can help with any immediate staffing requirements or longer-term recruitment projects to ultimately save you time and money on agency spend.

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