Help break the silence around mental health

We are committed to creating a culture where we all feel safe to be open about our feelings, colleagues support each other and we all have a good understanding of support available.

That’s why we’re excited to announce the CCG has made a pledge to an organisation called Time to Change, to break and end the stigma around mental health. The pledge is part of the Staff Partnership Group’s response to the staff survey and is in keeping with the People Plan that we are committed to embedding in the CCG.

Time to Change is England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination and is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Our Time to Change pledge, which is underpinned by an action plan, shows we are committed to creating a safe environment where:

• employees can bring their full selves to work each day
• mental health can be discussed honestly and openly with no fear of discrimination, and
• where asking for help is seen as a sign of strength and not weakness!

Would you like to be a champion?

We are looking for volunteers to become Mental Health Champions. You will offer peer support, but are not expected to be a counsellor! Champions will take a leading role and are focused on changing attitudes to mental health in the workplace; they are focused on changing attitudes.

As a champion you will:

• take action to de-stigmatise mental ill health
• signpost colleagues to available support and information
• be part of a support network with other champions, to learn, share and so much more.

Don’t worry, you don’t need any experience, all the training you need will be provided. Please Contact Kam, if you’re interested, we’d love to hear from you!

You can find out a little bit more on what Time to Change is all about by watching this short video.

World Mental Health Day

This Saturday (10 October), marks World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme is ‘mental health for all’. We all know this year has been a tough one, particularly for people living with mental illness. The aim of this day is to help raise awareness of mental health and for people dealing with mental health problems to live better lives with dignity. Our colleague Sarah Garner shares the importance of supporting each other this world mental health day – read her full article here.