St John Ambulance launches Embedding Mental Health Best Practice in the Workplace Conferences

Megan Peck
Marketing Coordinator
2nd October 2019

In addition to being the nation's leading first aid charity, delivering training and cover for events, St John Ambulance are supporting organisations to improve mental health and wellbeing support in the workplace. As part of this drive to reduce the stigma related to mental illness, they recently carried out research that found the following:

  • Over 68% of people feel that their employer should be doing more to address mental health issues at work
  • 65% of people would feel uncomfortable asking their employer for a mental health sick day
  • Nearly 40% of people have taken a day or longer off work due to mental health issues
  • Less than 20% of people say that their company has a mental health wellbeing policy that they know about
  • 1 in 4 people have left a job due to mental health or wellbeing issues.

In late 2017, St John Ambulance launched Mental Health First Aid training courses in partnership with Mental Health First Aid England. Attendees on these courses fed back that they needed further support on implementing mental health and wellbeing policies in their workplaces. As a result, St John Ambulance will be hosting a series of regional one-day mental health conferences, starting in Manchester, with the next conference to be held in Bristol on Thursday 28 November at the venue 'We The Curious'.

Mel Fox, Director of Training & Enterprise at St John Ambulance, said: “We’re excited to launch this series of regional conferences to foster discussion and share knowledge among business leaders about the best way to support the health and wellbeing of their workforces and communities. At St John Ambulance, we are committed to bringing physical and mental health together within first aid training. These conferences will be an excellent opportunity for sharing ideas and expertise in communities across the country so we can learn from each other and help build resilience in mental health."

Find out more about the conferences - sja.org.uk/bristol_19

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