Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an educational course that empowers MHFAiders to play a critical role in supporting people’s mental health and creating healthy working environments
Ria Cumming, EMAS People Business Partner, explains: “Just like physical first aid, Mental Health First Aid teaches you how to recognize those crucial warning signs of someone experiencing poor mental health, and provide them with first-level support and early intervention.
“At EMAS, we have invested in a two-day course for all leaders to help participants to support themselves and others to aid recovery by reducing stigma through education, increasing understanding, and providing relevant signposting support.”
To date, over 200 EMAS leaders have completed the course.
Lauren Marriott, EMAS People Advisor, said: “Learning takes place through a mix of presentations, group discussions, and workshop activities. Each session is built around a Mental Health First Aid action plan.
“When completing the training, colleagues qualify as MHFAiders.”
This means they gain:
- An in-depth understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing.
- Recognise those that may be experiencing poor mental health and provide them with first-level support and early intervention.
- Confidence to step in, reassure, and support a person in distress using the Mental Health First Aid action plan.
- Enhanced interpersonal skills such as practicing active listening and empathy.
- Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to further support eg self-help resources, our Employee Assistance Programme, or external sources such as their GP.
- An understanding of how to practice self-care and keep themselves safe while performing their duties.
In this short video, some of our managers talk about what they learned and took away from the most recent course.
Support available
EMAS staff can identify Mental Health First Aiders via a badge in their email signature or via their green MHFA lanyard. A wide range of other support services and networks are available to staff to support them with their mental and physical health, including:
- Occupational health and employee assistance programme
- Mind Caddy app developed to support health and wellbeing
- Trauma Risk Management practitioner support
- Peer to Peer and Pastoral Care Workers support and listening service
- The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives Mental Maintenance resources
- Menopause Support Team
- Support from external partners including The Ambulance Staff Charity, Able Futures and Mind.