On November 23rd and 24th, the College of Paramedics in collaboration with other emergency responder organisations are hosting the Emergency Services Mental Health Symposium 2022 at Silverstone, home of British Motor Racing.
Never before have so many emergency service organisations across the UK come together to highlight and support the mental health of their emergency services’ workforce.
The event, which follows on from the hugely successful inaugural symposium hosted last year by The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, showcases the progress that has been made one year on from when the Chief Officers of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, National Fire Chiefs Councils, Association of Ambulance Chief Executives and HM Coastguard (as Chair of UK Search and Rescue, UKSAR) all signed the Mental Health at Work Commitment for the Emergency Services and made a public pledge to address the mental health and wellbeing of their respective workforces.
Mark Hardingham, Chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council said: “The public expect the blue light services to work together, we work best when we do so together, so why should that be any different on such a critical issue as mental health and wellbeing? The symposium provides another fantastic opportunity to build relationships across our services, learn from one another and take what has worked and what hasn’t back to our respective teams.”
This year’s symposium, hosted by former BBC Breakfast presenter, Sian Williams, who is also a practising psychologist currently working in the NHS, features a number of speakers including practitioners, senior leaders, frontline staff and subject-matter experts from a wide range of 999 services and organisations from across the UK. By bringing people together to connect, share learning and showcase work, attendees will discover how to maximise the impact they can have on improving wellbeing within their own organisations.
As well as a lived experience panel with members of three emergency sessions, there will also be sessions on how to get active, family support, managing fatigue and supporting new recruits. For those attendees wanting the chance to unwind the ‘wellbeing hub’ promises to offer some much- needed R&R and for those in search of a little more excitement there are racetrack tours, podium visits and car driving experiences.
