News
Thrive Bristol News Bulletin – 14th September 2020
Dear Colleague,
Hope you are all keeping well and safe.
The Thrive at Work West of England programme launches today – providing new support to help improve mental health and wellbeing for businesses and their staff.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Asher Craig said: “I welcome the launch of the new ‘Thrive at Work West of England’ programme, which is supporting businesses during Covid-19, and underlining the importance and value of good mental health and wellbeing practices in the workplace.
“Bristol led the way in the region by launching ‘Thrive’ last year, and also by being the first city in the UK to sign-up to the new Mental Health at Work Commitment.
“Our mental health is just as important as our physical health, and we know that Covid-19 has had a significant impact on people’s lives and mental wellbeing, so this programme is even more important now as we navigate economic uncertainty. Together, with our partners in the region, we are working to support and promote healthy workplaces where people can thrive.”
Councillor Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor & Cabinet Member for Communities, Equalities & Public Health
The new Thrive at Work West of England is offering regional employers help to respond to mental health concerns in the workplace, particularly those arising from Covid-19.
This programme was developed by the Covid-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce group, a collaboration between the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), the 4 local authorities in Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset, plus Business West, FSB, Mind, the Unions and businesses and organisations in the Thriving at Work regional network. It builds on Thrive programmes in Bristol and South Gloucestershire and is aligned to the Thrive network across the UK.
The package of support, including training resources, is available through WECA’s West of England Growth Hub website. It includes free mental health e-learning to equip managers with the confidence and skills to have supportive conversations with
their staff about mental health and wellbeing, particularly in these challenging and changing times.
The programme aims to help create mentally healthy workplaces through supporting our region’s employers with information, tools and training. It offers mental health and wellbeing training and resources aimed at businesses and staff, including:
- Free e-Learning ‘Managing Mental Health at Work’ course for managers in Small and Medium sized businesses (0-250 staff).
- Guidance for business leaders to adopt the Mental Health at Work Commitment and implement Mental Health at Work Standards.
- Support to create wellness action plans using templates developed by Mind
- Free suicide prevention training and Covid-19 psychological first aid training
- Toolkits and resources shared by employers including local businesses involved in Thrive Bristol
- Offers of peer support from businesses to help smaller companies learn from others’ experience of what works to improve mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
The impact of the programme on the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce at all levels will be evaluated by a local partner with input from a partner involved in the national work on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Click here to find out more.
Bristol City Council’s Director of Public Health, Christina Gray, has published her first annual report, Investing in Bristol’s Mental Wealth. It looks closely at the concept of mental wealth, what it means for Bristol and sets out a series of recommendations for investing in mental wealth in a way that everyone can benefit. It also focuses on how coronavirus has and will impact the city’s residents and communities. Read the report here.
We hope you’ve found the newsletter useful. If you have any questions, comments or suggested topics for inclusion or would like to unsubscribe, please email us at thrive.bristol@bristol.gov.uk
Best wishes from the Thrive Bristol and Thrive at Work West of England partners.
Contact us:
If you would like to find out more about improving mental health and wellbeing in Bristol, or to get involved. Email: thrive.bristol@bristol.gov.uk
If you would like some support for your own mental health
Thrive Bristol does not provide mental health services – this is offered locally by the NHS and their partners. Information about local provision is available at Bristol Mental Health
Other useful links:
Mind
Heads Together
Samaritans
NHS