University is not ‘Inside Out’ with award nod for mental health training

The University’s drive to make students and staff better able to help people facing mental health problems has been recognised with a first ever award nomination.

Since November 2017 the University of Northampton’s HR and nursing teams have been rolling out Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training across the organisation.

MHFA is the mental health equivalent of physical first aid training and gives people the skills, knowledge and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and effectively guide a person towards the right support, be that self-help, an employee assistance programme, or professional services.

To date, the University’s MHFA team have trained 136 staff and 600 nursing students on two-day MHFA training courses, meaning these people are now certified mental health first aiders.

Also, a total of 213 others have completed shorter training sessions, meaning they have an increased general awareness of mental health issues.

In addition, the team have also been working in partnership with Northampton Town Football Club taking the full, two-day training off campus and into the community providing training for staff at NTFC’s Community Trust, as well as other University health partner organisations.

The University’s energies have been recognised with a nomination at the first Inside Out mental health awards for MHFA.

The other nominees in this category include Deustche Bank and Fast Stream and Early Talent (Cabinet Office) and the winners will be announced on 26 March 2020.

Emma Dillon, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, leads on MHFA training for students at the University, working alongside Claire Cross, HR Business Partner. Emma said: “Providing MHFA training at the University has never been about receiving awards, but it’s great news that our passion and commitment to ensuring good mental health for our community has been recognised with this nomination.

“We’re up against some high-profile organisations, which in itself is testament to how well regarded our efforts are.”

For more about MHFA at the University of Northampton, email: UONMHFA@northampton.ac.uk

Follow the team’s updates on their twitter account: @uonmhfa