Bupa UK Insurance’s executive team are the first in the UK to become Mental Health First Aiders after completing the Adult MHFA Two Day course.
All of the executive committee are now trained to provide first aid to people who may be experiencing mental ill health such as depression, anxiety and psychosis.
Recent research from the Reward & Employee Benefits Association (REBA) on employee wellbeing has found while two thirds (67.6%) of respondents feel their board support the company’s wellbeing agenda, less than one in ten (7.7%) feel the board actively drive it.
It’s clear that Bupa is bucking this trend, sending a powerful message to employees that their senior leaders are committed and willing to create a wellbeing culture that supports their people’s mental and physical health.
Bupa UK Insurance, CEO, Alex Perry said of the initiative:
“As business leaders, we want our people to thrive. We recognise the human impact mental health challenges can present.
We’re really proud to be leading the positive change in how all of us are supported in the workplace with our mental health and wellbeing. Starting with our senior leaders, we went through the training so that they can understand how to help a colleague experiencing mental ill health, and guide them to the next level of support.
We know that early recognition, diagnosis and treatment all contribute to more positive outcomes which is why we are training all of our physical first aiders to also be Mental Health First Aiders, and we will be giving all of our people managers Mental Health First Aid training.”
Commenting on the announcement, Jaan Madan, Workplace Lead at MHFA England said:
“I am delighted that Bupa has made such a purposeful connection to the subject and shown outstanding commitment to mental health, creating even healthier workplaces across the company. This top-down approach will help build the perfect platform to widen the reach and importance of mental health at work with Bupa partners, customers and networks.
This is setting the benchmark for workplace wellbeing and further strengthens the company’s MHFA programme as it is rolled out across the workforce.”
Read more here on how to train as a Mental Health First Aider.