I want to reiterate Mark’s message that in reaction to the ever-changing Covid-19 situation, your health, safety and wellbeing remains our top priority. This includes your mental health.
We know that Government’s guidance on working from home where possible, self-isolation and the recent decision to close schools until further notice is going to make the coming weeks and months quite challenging and may have an effect on your mental health. Which is why we want to provide you with some additional support.
Over the last 12 months, we introduced our GC Health and Wellbeing Programme which, as well as running health and wellbeing awareness sessions for employees and managers, it also included developing a cohort of Mental Health First Aiders to support colleagues across GC with practical advice and guidance on managing and maintaining our mental health. We are now in a position to launch the service to colleagues.
The Mental Health First Aid service
Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) are practically trained to give support at a time of crisis or act as a point of contact, reassurance and guidance to any GC employee - when it is needed. The role of a MHFA is not to give ongoing support or counselling to individuals, if you do access the MHFA service, you will be encouraged to contact professional services for any long-term needs.
Please note: the MHFA service is available for all GC employees. Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to offer this service to clients or students.
It’s important to recognise that the service will only be available during working hours. For out of office hours services you can contact our Employee Assistance Programme, they are available 24/7 to give free, confidential advice on a range of issues including, health and wellbeing. You can contact the helpline by telephone on 0800 030 5182 or visit the online support tools via the health portal (username: Growth, password: Company). Alternatively, you can also contact the Samaritans.
How to get in touch with our MHFAs and what to expect
We have approximately 40 MHFAs currently trained to give support across the Group.
All MHFAs will attempt to respond immediately to issues or calls for help however please note that due to other work demands, it may be necessary to arrange a time to call. This is to ensure you are given the time and attention needed to support you effectively.
Brief notes will be taken and stored on a secure system. This is to ensure that we are protecting each and every person who accesses the service. Please be assured, this information is stored in the strictest of confidence and only accessibly by the MHFA lead who will monitor the support accessed and advice offered to ensure we continue to offer the best and most appropriate support for colleagues. If you have any questions, please contact Virginie Ghaznavi.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the current working conditions in reaction to the evolving coronavirus situation, MHFA will only be available via email, skype or on the contact numbers in the attached.
When normal service resumes, if you do not have a MHFA on site you can still get in touch with one of them via skype and arrange a meeting or a phone call, depending on the nature of the concern/crisis.
You can find more information and tips on how to stay well while working from home or self-isolating on our Mental Health and Wellbeing page.