Mental Health Ambassadors pilot scheme launched

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Royal Mail workers, senior CWU and management representatives and also from the Unite union gathered at the company’s Mount Pleasant site last week for the launch of a joint mental health at work initiative.

The Mental Health Ambassadors pilot programme involves 80 volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds across the company, and includes frontline workers and unit managers, health and safety reps and first aiders.

As ambassadors and not counsellors, their local-level roles will be to promote guidance and information of the support and assistance that is available to people suffering at the workplace, not to involve themselves with representing individual cases, but to increase awareness and signpost people to the help they can access internally and externally.

Speaking at the pilot launch, CWU national health, safety and environment officer Dave Joyce explained that the union has been concerned about this issue for a considerable time.

“Mental health problems can often be ‘invisible’ to others, so the CWU strategy is to work with Royal Mail and the mental health charities and experts to raise awareness of the problems and issues faced by those with mental ill health, oppose stigma, get union reps trained in mental health awareness and mental health first aid so they can identify, help and work with our members and others.”

To the new volunteer ambassadors, Dave said: “All you people present today have an important role to play and I want to thank each and every one for putting yourself forward for this new role and being here today.”

The company’s head of health Rachel Boon told the audience that Royal Mail’s five-year mental health strategy Because Healthy Minds Matter “continues at pace.

“Through awareness-raising and support options, we are working with the CWU and Unite/CMA, towards the further improvement of our mental-health culture and the reduction of sickness absence that results from these debilitating conditions.”

And Dr Shaun Davis, Royal Mail Group director of safety, health, wellbeing and sustainability, said that he was “delighted to attend the launch event,” which had been “a fantastic day learning about the ambassador pilot and the local role they will play.”