New Mental Health Support For South Yorkshire Officers
A NEW counselling service has been set up at South Yorkshire Police Federation to help officers who are struggling with the mental health.
The service, which will run every Monday, will enable police officers to have an initial chat with a professional and receive mental health support or signposting to other organisations.
Welfare support is improving for officers across the force, South Yorkshire Police Federation said. Officers can now benefit from better occupational health support, the Welfare Support Programme or other services available through the Group Insurance Scheme.
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “There has never been a better time for officers who need any kind of assistance. If you need help, you will get it.
“This is a massive sea change because when I came into the Federation three years ago we have very limited support available, whereas now people can be spoken to in a matter of weeks, rather than months, if they need someone. So that’s a really good news story.”
Steve encouraged any members who were suffering to come to the office and know they will be treated in complete confidence, externally to the force.
He said: ‘I’ve noticed that sometimes people come to me or other Reps and say, ‘I’m a bit worried about Mr A or Mrs A on my shift’. And there are ways that we can approach them, in a very sensitive way, that someone has expressed concern about them, and these are the services available. We’ll say: ‘Let me know, in your own time, if you need anything. Drop me a text and we’ll get it sorted.’
“I’ve had very little negative feedback to that because that then means the door’s been opened for them and all they’ve got to do is step through it. So it’s a case of looking out for each other and speaking to each other. Cops are getting a lot better at that.
“If people are broken, they can talk to us. I’ve had a number of officers referred to me from a third party and successfully had counselling, and they’re back in the workplace and back in a much better state of mind. It’s a really positive time in that respect.”