Stress and Mental Health at Work
All NHS Staff are able to link into the National Wellbeing Hub events - they are currently delivering events on Resilience and Low Mood find out more information and to register.
National Services Scotland
NSS is committed to a healthy workforce by placing value on both physical and mental health. We acknowledge that stress problems have many causes, including in the workplace and the outside world. In NSS, our risk assessments show that factors which may lead to increased stress in our organisation include Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role and Change.
We also recognise that domestic factors (housing, family problems and bereavement) may also add to levels of stress experienced by our staff.
HWL have developed a Teams Wellbeing Hub where you can find information and resources with a focus on supporting your mental health and wellbeing.
NSS has a group of trained volunteers who are available to provide resources, active listening, and emotional support to colleagues that need someone to talk to. This service offers confidential, emotional support directly, throughout the working day. If you would like to contact one of our MHFAs, please find more information here
NHS 24
NHS 24 is committed to supporting both the physical and mental health and well being of all employees. Below you will find information to help support employees.
Our Stress Management and Wellbeing Policy can be found under the Policies, Process T&Cs area, Stress and Mental Health section.
Information on the Employee Assistance Programme can be found under the Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing area, Employee Assistance / Counselling section.
An information leaflet about Remploy and the support they can provide can be found in the tabs below.
NHS Education for Scotland
We are committed to supporting the Health and Wellbeing of all our staff. In this section you will find information about Heath Promotion activity, a list of your local Health Promotion representatives and useful links to resources to promote your Health and Wellbeing.
Public Health Scotland
PHS is committed to a healthy workforce by placing value on both physical and mental health. We acknowledge that stress problems have many causes, including in the workplace and the outside world. In PHS our risk assessments show that factors which may lead to increased stress in our organisation include Demands, Control, Support, Relationships, Role and Change.
We also recognise that domestic factors (housing, family problems and bereavement) may also add to levels of stress experienced by our staff.
Learning and Development
You will be able to find details on learning and development opportunities across NSS within the HR Connect page - Learning and Development and Organisational Development.
For specific learning that's highlighted below, please log into Learnpro via the Quick system link page
Module within the Wellbeing tab:
- Building Personal Resilience
Modules within the Health & Safety tab:
Note that these are generic modules and are only identified as NSS as they sit within the NSS site of Learnpro
- NSS Stress Management for Employees
- NSS Stress Management for Managers
Modules within the CPD tab:
- Team Working and Communicating Information
- Thinking and Support Management
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Conflict Management
- Managing Effective Meetings
- Questioning and Listening
- NES Introduction to CBT for Anxiety
NHS Health Scotland - Stress and the Workplace
Websites and Videos
Websites & Helplines
Health in Mind - Coorie in for Christmas
Mind for a better mental health
Scottish Centre of Healthy Working Lives Mental Health Awareness
Clear your head - On this website you will find hints and tips providing ideas on how to keep moving, creating routine, looking after yourself, staying connected and healthy eating
Breathing Space - 0800 83 85 87 – free listening advice and information for people feeling low, stressed or anxious
Samaritans – 116 123 or email: provides 24 hour free confidential emotional support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide samaritans.org
CALM – 0800 58 58 58 – free helpline and webchat dedicated to preventing male suicide
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – 0300 111 5065, email: support@uksobs.org – exists to meet the needs and break the isolation of those bereaved by suicide uksobs.org
Shout – Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 for free 24/7 text based support for anyone in crisis, struggling to cope and in need of immediate help.
Drinkline Scotland - Alcohol helpline – 0800 7 314 314 – alcohol helpline for anyone worried about their own or someone else’s drinking
Know the Score - Drug use helpline - 0333 230 9468 – free, confidential information and advice
Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs - Concerned about someone else’s alcohol or drug use call 08080 10 10 11 - free and confidential helpline
Domestic abuse helpline - 0800 027 1234, email helpline@sdafmh.org.uk and webchat – confidential support from highly trained female advisors
Rape Crisis Scotland helpline - 08088 01 03 02 – confidential support, advice and information. For anyone, women and men, affected by sexual violence no matter when or how it happened
Cruse Bereavement Care - Bereavement helpline - 0845 600 2227 - offers support to people who have lost someone close
LGBT health and wellbeing helpline - 0300 123 2523, email helpline@lgbthealth.org.uk and webchat for information and emotional support
Childline – 0800 1111 – confidential listening and support with a counsellor or 1-2-1 webchat
Parentline Scotland Parents helpline - 08000 28 22 33 and webchat for tips, advice and support for parents
The Silver Line - Older people’s helpline – 0800 4 70 80 90 - free 24 hr helpline providing information, friendship and advice to older people.
SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) – Hub of information and guidance about looking after your mental health as the coronavirus developments continue www.samh.org.uk
Useful Video's
SeeMe - The Power of Okay - Part One
SeeMe - The Power of Okay - Part Two - caution unclean version
The Black dog. His name was depression
Why not try being Wellbeing Creative
Never has it been more important to look after yourself and your mental health. Take some time out to relax, reflect and enjoy some virtual creativity!
Mental Health First Aiders
PHS has a group of trained volunteers who are available to provide resources, active listening, and emotional support to colleagues that need someone to talk to. This service offers confidential, emotional support directly, throughout the working day. If you would like to contact one of our MHFAs, please find more information here
If you require additional information you can contact the NSS Health Promotion Advisor through HR Connect Contact Us / Wellbeing.
The State Hospital
The State Hospital is committed to promoting a healthy workforce by placing value on both physical and mental health. We acknowledge that stress problems have many causes, including in the workplace and the outside world. We acknowledge the importance of identifying and reducing workplace stressors and we also recognise that domestic factors (housing, family problems and bereavement) may also add to levels of stress experienced by our staff.
In this section you will find information about stress management and services offered to staff to support mental health.
Visit our Staff Wellbeing Centre!
The Staff Wellbeing Centre, which was launched on 5 May 2020 and was based initially in Islay Conference Centre has been extremely well received by staff throughout the Hospital. Since 30 November 2020 the centre found its permanent home in Harris and continues to be a safe space for staff to access. The centre provides a space for staff to relax and recuperate away from the daily working environment, and makes it as easy as possible for anyone to access any support that they need, when they need it.
Staff wellbeing is ever more important given the challenges of the last year and we want staff to feel that there is a dedicated space as well as a more inclusive support network available to help to look after all our mental health and wellbeing.
Staff are invited to drop by, take a break and enjoy the use of massage equipment as well as the use of weighted hoops, fitness vibration plates, table tennis, air hockey, health and wellbeing library, craft activities, relaxation sessions and not to mention a lovely cup of tea or coffee and a sweet treat.
Staff can access the space in the atrium within Harris, Monday – Sunday before or after shifts, at lunch times, break times, for supervision, informal meetings or catch ups. The centre will have members of staff available to sign post Monday – Friday 9am-5pm.
Tsh.staffwellbeingcentre@nhs.scot
Tel: 01555 842090
- HSE Stress Indicator Tool
- Time for Talking Leaflet TSH
- Workplace Guide to Mental Health TSH
- Mindfulness: Information & Practices
- Managing Anxiety and Panic Attacks
- Coping as a Carer
- Coping with a Stressful Incident at Work - TSH
- 60 second tranquiliser
- Top 10 stress busting tips
- Stress Questionnaire
- Stress in the workplace
- How to look after your mental health
- How to identify stress
- How important is your worry
- Going the extra mile. Leaflet for Employees.
- Getting to grips with change
- Facts about Stress
- A Guide for Occupational Health Clinicians
- 7 Positives for a better life
- MH& Wellbeing - Where can I find information on support for carers?
If you look after someone, need care yourself or are planning for your future care needs, you can get the information and advice you need here: Care Information Scotland
- MH&Wellbeing - Where can I find general information on Health and Wellbeing?
NHS Inform contains useful information on general health and wellbeing.
NHS Choices is a site hosted by NHS England with information on health and self care.
AXA PPP Health Care provide NES with the confidential Employee Counselling Service ICAS. Their website also has a lot of supportive information.
Greener Scotland has good information on local, fresh seasonal food, green travel and things like insulation which can improve health in the home.
Roar Connections for life is a Renfrewshire-based third sector organisation that provides preventative health and wellbeing services for older people through the development of community opportunities that connect lives. - Workplace Stress - Learning & Development support
Learning and Development
You will be able to find details on learning and development opportunities across NSS within the HR Connect page - Learning and Development and Organisational Development.
For specific learning that's highlighted below, please log into Turas Learn
Modules within the Health & Safety tab:
- NSS Stress Management for Employees
- NSS Stress Management for Managers
- Acc/Inc - When is an incident RIDDOR reportable?
RIDDOR regulations place a duty on all organisations to report certain accidents, dangerous occurrence and occupational disease.
Although some examples are very straight forward when considering if a HSE notification is required, some like work related stress require further assessment
For a incident to be considered reportable three test are required to be met, which are:
- There was an accident - where an accident is a single identifiable incident which results in personal injury
- The accident was work related – if it occurred out of or in connection with work
- The injury is of a type that is reportable – as the Injured Person received a specified injury or was unable to fulfil normal duties for more than 7 days.
With work related stress there is often not a single identifiable incident which would results in the injury and as such it would not meet the one of the three tests and therefore it would be considered not Reportable under the current RIDDOR regulations.
Cumulative exposures to hazards such as which tends to be a contributing factor to Work related Stress would not be considered an ‘accident’ as defined or classed under RIDDOR
- MH&Wellbeing - 5 Steps towards mental wellbeing
Information from Optima Health Factsheet - Five steps towards mental wellbeing
Optima Health - HELP / Employee Assistance - https://sgcp.helpeap.com/
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022's theme is ‘loneliness’, which has been a struggle experienced by many during the pandemic.
According to the mental health charity Mind, at least one in four people experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England.
Mental health is a continuum, and different life events or experiences can impact where we sit on that scale.
For example, recent events such as the rise in energy bills, a wave in Covid-19 infections and the Ukraine conflict may have had an impact on people’s wellbeing and increased feelings of anxiety.
Boosting your mental health
Many factors influence our mental wellbeing but the actions we take and the way we think can have a huge impact.
It can help to think about “being well” as something you do, rather than something you are.
Five steps towards mental wellbeing
Here are five things you can try to implement into your routine to help support your mental wellbeing:
Connect - stay in touch regularly with the people that matter to you and spend time positively nurturing these relationships. If you don’t have anyone close you can reach out to, try to connect with colleagues at work, with online communities or with people in your local area – such as your neighbours.
Be active – such as taking a walk, cycling or playing a team sport. Try to find physical activities that you enjoy and make them a part of your weekly routine.
Keep learning - new skills can give you a sense of achievement and help to boost your self-esteem. For example, you could sign up for a cooking course, start learning to play a musical instrument or spend time on a DIY project you’ve been avoiding.
Give to others - even the smallest act can count, whether it's a smile, a thank you or a kind word. If you keep up the behaviour it will soon feel natural and you’ll start to feel better for it. Larger acts, such as volunteering at your local community centre can also help you to build new social networks.
Be present – try to be in the ‘present’ moment, instead of living in the past or future. Take a pause in your day and notice your feelings and thoughts, your body and the world around you. This is often referred to as “mindfulness” and it can really change the way you feel about life, how you approach challenges and the level of gratitude you feel.
Your Mind Plan
Taking steps to look after our mental health is something we need to do continually. The NHS have created a great interactive tool called Your Mind Plan which offers further ideas you can try tailored to you.
As well as the mental health charity Mind, you can find further support online from Samaritans (call 116 123 for their 24/7 helpline), Mental Health Foundation and NHS Every Mind Matters
- How can I get access to information and support for mental health?
The Scottish Association for Mental Health is a good source of general information about mental health.
MIND (Mental Health Charity) is another good source to use for information and support.
As an employer, NES understands that maintaining a work-life balance is not always easy for staff. In order to provide support to employees, NES is pleased to provide Employee Assistance by ICAS to help achieve that balance.
Website: ICAS
Password: please follow the link to NES intranet here
We hope you will find the services of ICAS helpful. If you have any comments about the service provided, please do not hesitate to contact the HR and OD Team.
- Where can I find information about Health Promotion in NES and how can I get involved?
The Healthy Working Lives award programme helps organisations identify issues and improve?health, safety and wellbeing in a structured and productive way. Organisations of any size can join the programme and NES now holds the highest, Gold Award, and has done so for several years.
The Award is reviewed annually and NES must evidence ongoing best practice to maintain the award.
By achieving the Healthy Working Lives award, NES aims to
- have a healthier, more motivated and productive workforce
- reduce absence rates and support employees in work and returning to work
- reduce accidents, incidents and work related ill health
- enhance its reputation and increase its profile
- contribute to the health of the wider community
There are NES representatives in every region/directorate, who arrange local monthly Health Promotion information or interactive events, which count towards gaining the award.
The recently relaunched Healthy Working Lives website offers free, personalised advice on workplace health, safety and wellbeing. Access to interactive tools and templates, simple practical guides and much more.
If you wish to become a representative or to contact your local rep please contact hwl_admin@nes.scot.nhs.uk - Where can I get further support about Dementia?
- Where can I find information and support for Alzheimer's ?
Alzheimer Scotland provides a wide range of specialist services for people with dementia and their carers.