ScotRail has deepened its commitment to tackling mental health issues across its operations by completing the training of 100 staff.
Drivers, gateline assistants, engineers, conductors and those in other roles have become Mental Health First Aiders.
This means that they are now equipped with the skills to notice when an individual requires mental health support, and to have a supporting conversation with them, directing them to other channels of guidance and help if they deem that it is required.
It is hoped that this will provide much-needed assistance to those experiencing mental health-related difficulties and ultimately help to prevent suicides.
We will continue to identify opportunities to improve the support we provide
Louise McKee, ScotRail Wellbeing Advisor
This year, a total of 30 of the operator’s staff members received training from Grow Training, a training specialist located in Glasgow.
Moreover, ScotRail also works closely together with Samaritans.
The charity helps improve the awareness of mental health issues among staff across the operator’s network, which stretches from the Scottish Borders to the Highlands.
Reaching this milestone of having 100 trained mental health advisers comes during the country’s Mental Health Awareness Week, which started on Monday, 13 May, and is organised by the Mental Health Foundation.
Other operators, such as Hull Trains, are also organising training and events for the week, while TransPennine Express held a mental health initiative in April of this year.
More information about Mental Health Awareness Week can be found by clicking on this link.
The wellbeing and mental health of our staff and customers is really important to us at ScotRail, so it’s great to see many of our colleagues step up to become Mental Health First Aiders across the business.
Having so many trained staff is really encouraging, and it will enable more of us to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
We will continue to identify opportunities to improve the support we provide, and will be engaging with staff throughout this important week to raise awareness of what ScotRail is providing.
Louise McKee, ScotRail Wellbeing Advisor
Responses
Hmm…I’m not sure I’d want to work in an organisation that has a number of employees trained to look for mental health problems in the rest of the staff. That smacks of surveillance to me, and what’s to stop staff maliciously identifying mental health issues in colleagues they don’t like?
Most people have family members who can spot mental health issues and help refer the person involved to medical professionals.
Do we really want work places to have groups of “informants”?
Depends how it works in practice. The company where I work (not rail related) has had mental health first aiders for years. Apart from knowing they’re available if needed, we wouldn’t know they were there. Certainly no sense of surveillance here. It’s not about watching everyone all the time. It’s about knowing what to look for, and what to do if you spot signs there may be an issue.
Sadly, family members are not best-placed to identify mental health issues. Immediate family members are very often completely unaware of issues until the person involved takes their own life.
I agree. The HR department should manage this carefully and not regard it as a goal to get as many onto these courses as possible. There are people who will ‘weaponise’ these initiatives to get at others, if they can.