Importance of Mental Health First Aid.

Now more than ever, it is vital to be informed about the mental health and wellbeing of your workforce. As we emerge from lockdowns, quarantine and isolation, being informed will ensure a smoother transition back to the workforce and allow for support for those who are struggling with being back out in the world.

The mental health of Australians has suffered during this time and things won’t “just get better”. Equipping your staff with a Mental Health First Aid Qualification will become important in ensuring your team can navigate out of the COVID pandemic. Through gaining this qualification, your staff will be able to see the signs when someone may be struggling with their mental health or suffering from a mental illness.

It is anticipated that incidents relating to Mental Health in the workplace will increase following the pandemic. So your people need to be ready to respond. Similar to physical first aid, MHFA allows you to look after the person until further assistance can be provided. We don’t need to be psychologists for them but we do need to be able to recognise some signs of illness and know how to respond in an emergency. Think broken arm response vs panic attack response. In both case, you can’t fix the issue but you can provide the appropriate support to be able to make the person comfortable through the situation until further help can be provided.