HSE Report (RR1135) Published on the Effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training in the Workplace:

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Introduction

This report produced by the HSE is described by the authors as nothing more than a “rapid scoping review” – extracting data from ‘selected’ articles. It concludes that it is not possible at the time of writing the report to state whether MHFA training is effective in a workplace setting or not. This, the report explains, is due to the limited scope of the study and the limited information it’s based on.

As the regulator for workplace health and safety, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that it wishes to understand the strength of the available evidence on the effectiveness of MHFA in the workplace and hence commissioned this recent study.

However, this inconclusive report won’t help them much. The Report authors admit and accept that more robust research evidence is required on the use of MHFA training in workplaces and that’s something that would be welcomed universally, in our view.

CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department Opinion of the report

The opinion of the CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department is that the report is of little or no significance. What is needed to draw definitive conclusions is an in-depth, detailed study and not a “rapid scoping review”.

Positive Aspects

On the positive side, the report finds and concludes that there is consistent evidence that MHFA training raises employees’ awareness of mental ill health conditions and that MHFA trainees have a better understanding of where to find information and professional support, and those trained are more confident in helping individuals experiencing mental ill‐health or a crisis.

The report does raise the valid question of needing to ensure that the introduction of MHFA training in workplaces results in sustained actions and outcomes of improved, wider management of mental ill-health and beneficial outcomes. Again, we can all agree on this.

Other Studies and Reports – Referred to in the HSE Report:

Jorm et al. (2010) in Australia and Jenson et al. (2016) in Denmark reported that MHFA training improved trainee knowledge and their confidence in helping other people with mental ill‐health conditions. Both studies found that positive changes were sustained six months after the MHFA training. Both studies also found improved positive attitudes.

Kidger et al. (2016) in the UK reported that both adult and youth MHFA courses were effective at improving the knowledge, attitudes, confidence and skills in supporting people.

Kitchener and Jorm (2004) in Australia demonstrated improved mental health literacy (concordance with health professionals in beliefs about treatment), increased confidence in providing help to others, decreased social distance from people suffering from depression, and greater likelihood of advising people to seek professional help. The report found an improved behaviour towards those with mental ill‐health and the training also benefited the mental health of the trainees.

Booth et al. (2017), Hadlaczky et al. (2014) and Kitchener and Jorm, (2016) all reported a positive improvement amongst public sector workers immediately following the training and up to six months after. These improvements included their knowledge, preparedness and confidence to intervene to help others.

A Study and Report not referred to in the HSE Report – Fire Service Study:

The study, ‘Promoting Well-being and Reducing Stigma about Mental Health in the Fire Service’, published in the Journal of Mental Health, revealed the positive impact that Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) awareness training has on staff knowledge about poor mental health – an issue that affects 20% of the UK’s workforce. The study also revealed a significant improvement in attitude towards the issue following the training and well-being programme. The research was developed by Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Community Psychology Service. The study reported a significant improvement in attitude to mental health problems and increased ability and confidence to help someone experiencing mental health problems. The initiative has since been used with teachers and mental health nursing staff and has been shown to be consistently effective in positively influencing attitudes to mental health problems and knowledge and efficacy about mental health. Participants described how they were more able to recognise and respond to signs of mental health problems and to help their friends and colleagues, and that attitudes towards mental health issues were changing and they were more open-minded and less judgemental.

MFHA England

MFHA England reported seeing a dramatic increase, over the last year, in the number and range of organisations, including the emergency services, police and many others, all seeking solutions to the increasing issue of mental ill health in the workplace. They said that it is through good quality, specifically tailored training that we are able to help employers raise awareness of mental health across their organisations and lift the stigma that has been long associated with mental ill health. It is estimated that in any one year approximately one British adult in four experiences at least one diagnosable mental health disorder.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised, accredited and licensed training course. MHFA England has trained 70,000 people and has worked with many large employers to deliver mental health awareness training within the workplace. MHFA is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid training and provides participants with the skills and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the right support services.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

18LTB489 HSE Report (RR1135) Published on the Effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training in the Workplace HSE Report on MHFA Effectiveness in the Workplace 2018 (RR1135)

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National Rule 14 & Complaints Procedure Byelaws

Branches will be aware that the New National Rule 14 was endorsed at this year’s Annual Conference.

The main thrust of the change was to switch the emphasis from one of discipline and punishment to complaint and resolution. The main changes are as follows:

• New title – Dispute Resolution

• One clear route of administration for all complaints via GS department

• Includes the National Complaints Procedure within the rule

• Change the make-up of the NDC

• Rename the Independent Review Body to Independent Appeals Panel (IAP)

• Change the make-up of the IAP to consist of 3 totally independent members

• The NDC will have an automatic right to attend the IAP

• New Byelaws for the NDC, IAP and Complaints Procedure

The NDC byelaws agreed by the NEC are required by rule to be endorsed by the next available General Conference which will be 2019.

The Complaints Procedure byelaws agreed at the July NEC meeting dovetail into the new rule and now complete the process for any complaints / disputes received in the GS Department.

For ease of reference National Rule 14 and new byelaws are attached. Any future issues raised under National Rule 14 should be addressed to gs-rule14@cwu.org.

Any enquires on the above LTB should be addressed to gs-rule14@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Tony Rupa

Assistant Secretary, NDC

18LTB490 National Rule 14 & Complaints Procedure Byelaws

BYE-LAWS GOVERNING THE CONDUCT OF THE INDEPENDENT APPEALS PANEL (IAP)

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

National Rule 14

NDC Byelaws

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Royal Mail Group – Flu Inoculation Voucher Campaign

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Last year a large number of Royal Mail Group workers were unfortunate enough to catch flu causing them great pain and discomfort and time away from work. This meant that in addition to people being unwell the service to customers was affected.

This year Royal Mail Group has agreed to offer all employees a free flu inoculation which will be available from mid-September through to 31st December.

The CWU is encouraging members to seriously consider taking up this offer which will be available from a leading high street pharmacy and dispensing chemist company via a voucher that will be sent out to all employees in September with the Courier and other staff magazines‎.

Last year over 31,000 employees were affected by flu/flu-like symptoms which was a 31.2% increase on the previous year with 127,256 days lost to flu or flu-like symptoms which was a 42.1% increase. ‎The estimated cost to the Royal Mail Group was over £41 million.

Motion 38 was carried at the 2018 CWU Postal General Conference in the name of Newcastle Amal which reads as follows:

38 CATEGORY A: This Conference notes that this year’s flu jab offering

from Royal Mail was too little, too late; and that WTLL sessions and offers of a flu

jab in January 2018 were too late to combat an already flourishing flu epidemic.

Conference therefore instructs the Postal Executive to seek agreement with Royal

Mail Group to ensure that the provision of flu jabs is both communicated and

administered as early as possible prior to the onset of winter.

Newcastle Amal

It has been agreed that there will be a joint campaign promoted by Royal Mail, CWU and Unite/CMA to combat the Flu which can be a painful viral infection. ‎In September there will be a major communications campaign including WTLL, RMTV and an article on internal screens. There will also be a short video showing how easy it is to spread the Flu Virus.

There will be posters for display outlining

• Catch It, Bin It, Kill It

• Hand washing

• How to get the voucher

This “Free Flu Jab” offer is open to all Royal Mail employees‎ and the vouchers for the free Flu jab will be sent to employee home addresses either by a direct mailing or as an insert in Courier or other staff magazines depending on which part of the RM Group individuals work in. The voucher can be redeemed at a major high street pharmacy company as long as it’s produced with the employee’s Royal Mail Group ID card. The vouchers will be redeemable from September through to February however it is advised that inoculations are given in September and October before the main Flu virus becomes prevalent. Employees will have to arrange the Flu jab in their own time and there will be no on-site clinics.

To update and inform CWU ASRs of the process and to answer any questions, it has been agreed that RMG will set up conference calls for Area Health and Safety Reps so that they can understand what will be happening and be in a position to promote and encourage members to take up this offer. The dates for the calls are shown below and electronic invitations have already been sent out:-

– Thursday 30th August at 13:00

– Friday 7th September at 09:30

The numbers you require for the call are:

Dial in: 0800 012 1445

Participant: 2474154#

Please dial in before the start time so that we can have a prompt start.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

18LTB488 Royal Mail Group – Flu Inoculation Voucher Campaign

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CWU SPECIAL GENERAL CONFERENCE 2018 – ONLINE REGISTRATION PROCESS

Branch Secretaries should be familiar with the process of registering their delegates and observers for conference using the online registration. If you have not used this system before, please do not hesitate to contact Angela Niven on eventsregistration@cwu.org and she will assist you.

Letters were sent to all Branch Secretaries advising them what the Branch delegation entitlements are for the Special General Conference. Branches are asked that if they are exceeding their entitlement that those individuals are registered as Observers.

Branches should note that the Special General Conference will be held in the Solent Hall at the Bournemouth International Centre and not in the Windsor Hall as normal.

Please note that all Field Officials have already been registered by Head Office.

If any Branch Secretary has forgotten their login details or passwords for the Branch or need assistance registering then please do not hesitate to contact eventsregistration@cwu.org The same applies if you need to make any changes to any applications that have already been made.

The login website is https://conference.cwu.org

Please note that all online registrations have to be completed by Friday 19th October 2018 as after this date you will be unable to use the website to register.

Any enquiries on this LTB should be directed to Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256 or email eventsregistration@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

18LTB487 – CWU Special General Conference – Online Registrations Process

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SPECIAL GENERAL CONFERENCE “REDESIGN” – Saturday 3rd/Sunday 4th November 2018

Attached with this Letter to Branches are motion forms for the Special General Conference “Redesign”. Branches should note that the motion guide for submitting motions to the Special General Conference “Redesign” has been attached.

Entitlements

As the rulebook on entitlement to submit motions to a Special General Conference is silent, the Standing Orders Committee has consulted the President for a decision. It was decided to keep the entitlement as much in line with the current National Rules as was practicably possible. Therefore in relation to the Special General Conference “Redesign”, all Branches are entitled to submit three motions. Regional Committees are entitled to submit three motions to the Special General Conference “Redesign” however one of the motions must be from the Regional Women’s Committee.

Branches and Regions will only be entitled to submit motions to change or expand the policies contained within the NEC papers, not to introduce new business outside the purpose for which the Conference has been called

Branches and Regional Committees are also reminded that the closing date for the submission of motions to the Special General Conference “Redesign” is Sunday 30th September 2018. Submission of motions can be by post or email but must arrive by midnight.

If sending Motions by post, Branches must ensure they use a signed for service which guarantees delivery by the closing date and time.

Branches, Regions and the NEC are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted. 

Please note that all correspondence must be sent by email to conferences@cwu.org and no other personal email address.

Any queries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256 or by email to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

18LTB486 – CWU Special General Conference Redesign

Special Conference Motion Guide 2018

Redesign Motion-Form

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NEC Policy Papers – Special Redesign Conference 3rd & 4th November 2018

Please find below a link to a full set of Policy Papers that will be placed before the Special Redesign Conference on 3rd and 4th November 2018.

We can also advise that the Standing Orders Committee will be sending out an LTB tomorrow morning setting out the process and timetable for Branches wishing to submit motions.

Further communications will follow in due course.

Any enquires on the above LTB should be addressed to the gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward – General Secretary  

Tony Kearns – Senior Deputy General Secretary

Redesign conference booklet

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JOHN BASKERVILLE – Former Branch Secretary and Area Div Rep

It is with regret that I write to inform you that John Baskerville passed away a few days ago after losing his fight with cancer. He was a long-standing member of Midlands No.7 Branch as a Branch Secretary from 1992 to 2005 and as an Area Delivery Representative from 1992 to 1994.

He will be sorely missed by members, colleagues and friends within the union and the wider labour movement.

The funeral arrangements are as follows:

Date: Thursday 30th August 2018

Time: 10.00am

Venue: Bradwell Crematorium, Chatterley Close, Newcastle ST5 8LE

The family has requested that they would like either tributes or a donation to Stoke Winter Night Shelter.

All our thoughts are with John’s family, close friends and colleagues at this very sad time.

Any enquiries on the content of this LTB please forward to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

18LTB483 JOHN BASKERVILLE

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Petition – Make It Compulsory To Have a Mental Health First Aider at Work – “Where’s Your Head At” Campaign

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Organisers of this petition and the “Where’s Your Head At” campaign have approached the Union to support their campaign by generating support for their national petition of the Government Minister calling for the introduction of a health and safety law, compulsory requirement to have Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace, similar to medical/physical first aiders, as covered currently by the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.

The “Where’s Your Head At” campaign aims to improve the mental health of the nation by ensuring employers look after the wellbeing of their workforce in just the same way as they are required to protect physical wellbeing. The campaign makes the point that evidence shows that the earlier a mental health issue – like stress, anxiety or depression – is detected the easier it is to manage and treat. The workplace is where people spend most of their adult lives but unfortunately it’s also a place where mental well-being is the most neglected. This campaign wants to make it easy for workers to be able to talk about their mental health at work issues and additionally seeks to ensure that there are trained Mental Health First Aid colleagues on site who know how give initial support and to point people in distress, in the direction of any help needed.

A Mental Health First Aider is a volunteer person in the workplace or organisation who has been trained to identify, understand and help someone who may be in distress and be experiencing a mental health issue. They aren’t a therapist, psychiatrist or clinician, they are someone who is able to listen, converse, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially stop a crisis from happening. This is because they’ve received training to recognise warning signs of mental ill health, and have developed the basic skills to support someone and signpost them to professional help and support.

The “Where’s Your Head At” campaign and this petition is led by Natasha Devon MBE, the writer and social critic. Natasha is a well-known mental health campaigner. She delivers classes and conducts research with teenagers and parents on mental health, body image and social equality. Devon has a weekly column in the Times Educational Supplement. She has worked closely with a number of UK mental health charities and organisations and with “Mental Health First Aid England”. She was appointed as the first ever Department for Education (DfE) Mental Health Champion for Schools in 2015 but the role was scrapped in May 2016. Devon continued to give evidence to the House of Commons Health and Education Select Committee.

Please support the petition calling on Sarah Newton, the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work to commit to updating Health and Safety Legislation to ensure that employers and organisations have the same obligation in law to provide mental health first aiders as they do medical first aiders.

Let’s Change The Law to Protect Our Mental Health and Sign The Petition at:- http://www.wheresyourheadat.org/

And Please spread the word!

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

18LTB482 Petition – Make It Compulsory To Have a Mental Health First Aider at Work – Where’s Your Head At Campaign

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Safe & Well – August 2018

To: All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Please see attached the August edition of Safe and Well newsletter with contributions from our USRs and field teams.

The August 2018 issue contents include:

• Drivers: using the VRM system

• Drivers: remember to Prove It in a RTC

• Vehicles: if the steps don’t fit

• Near Misses: razor blades and faulty hammers

• AMS Box: updates for August

• Incident: live voltage in welfare room

• Incident: battery burns

• Incident: MDF electrical shock

• Equipment: check your crocs!

• Wildlife: more winged horrors of summer

• Action: check you aren’t creating a pallet panic

• Info: updates on the pre climb check – on hold

• Info: “That’s How” video on Licence to Manage

• Equipment: KJB5 fixing the faulty lifters

• Health and Wellbeing – Don’t twist and shout/how to get other help and support

Thanks to TSO colleagues for sharing their incidents/near misses with us – we have highlighted a couple of these as they relate to our teams as well.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

18LTB480 Safe & Well – August 2018

Safe and Well Issue 61 August 2018

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