Covid-19 focused everyone’s attention on physical health and preventing infections. For care homes, this was an enormous task to protect vulnerable residents from serious illness. What we all have to be aware of now is the toll the pandemic has taken on mental health.
Although nobody is being complacent, high levels of full immunisation among care home staff and residents are gradually allowing normality to return. The threat of serious illness resulting from infection is greatly reduced.
READ: WHAT IS EXPECTED FOR CARE SERVICES?
But the pandemic has been mentally bruising and often traumatic. Alongside fear of the virus, residents have seen friends and loved ones become ill and pass away. They’ve also been deprived of family visits, social contact, activities and outings that are crucial to maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.
Dedicated care staff have been in the middle of this. The ONS estimated that over 850 health and social care staff died of Covid-19 between March and December 2020. This is alongside the deaths of residents that staff often felt powerless to prevent.
Mental Health Awareness for Staff and Clients
Being able to respond effectively to situations of stress is reliant, in part, on strong mental wellbeing. It’s more important than ever for care home staff to be aware of the signs of mental ill-health (in residents, themselves and their colleagues), and to know how to get help.
Our Mental Health Matters course offers an excellent foundation to help people understand mental health and the stigma surrounding it. It aims to help people recognise the causes of poor mental health and to deal more confidently with people having mental health issues. The course is available as face-to-face, distance learning or e-learning.
Redcrier has also launched a new Understanding Mental Health distance learning course. This is one of our Silver Box learning resources that you can make available to your team when it’s most convenient or relevant.
The course will give you an insight into some of the mental health disorders you are likely to come across. These include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, bipolar and schizophrenia. It will help you and your team to recognise and support people with these conditions.
You can find out more about the Understanding Mental Health course and download a sample unit via the button below.
UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH COURSE
For more information about our courses and to speak to a Training Consultant, contact 01823 33 22 00 or email info@redcrier.com
