Mental health first aid with Pinnacle

Industry

Health network

Products

Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa

Location

Te Manawa Taki

“If I hadn’t completed the course, then I would have wondered whether I was being helpful or worsening the situation.”

“I was armed with the tools to have a conversation with her –including simply listening – and this helped her, restored her mana and her resolve. “

Overview

Stretching from south Taranaki to Gisborne, Coromandel to the southern Lakes, the Pinnacle network covers most of the central North Island. Rural communities feature heavily in the health network’s geography and responding to the differing needs of rural people – including rural clinicians – is central to its work.

In a 2023 snapshot of its services, the Pinnacle network served a total of 450,944 patients across 85 general practices.

In the past financial year, the Pinnacle network’s enrolled patient base increased by 2,500 patients. Notably, the proportion of Māori enrolled patients increased by 0.3% from 2022, representing 1,870 additional Māori patients.

This growth in the number of enrolled Māori patients corresponds with programmes aimed at increasing access to primary care for Māori.

The Need

Supporting employee mental wellbeing is one of Pinnacle’s key organisational development priorities.

Pinnacle firmly believes it has a responsibility to care for its workforce, many of whom provide essential care for whānau in the community. It has been widely reported that the health workforce is experiencing increasing pressures and demands due to national workforce shortages and transformational changes to the health system.

Pinnacle wants to ensure the workplace is a place that positively contributes to staff wellbeing, not the cause of worsening it. It has a range of initiatives in place to support employee wellbeing, such as health promotion, leadership, diversity and inclusion training, EAP counselling, employee feedback surveys, wellness vouchers and discretionary leave, but felt that mental health first aid was a missing link.

Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa is not only about equipping staff with skills to keep others safe, but also to build their own mental fitness. Pinnacle wanted to assist its people to increase mental health literacy, decrease stigmatising attitudes, and encourage (early) help-seeking behaviours.

It wanted to empower someone to access the support they might need for their recovery journey and successful management of their mental health symptoms.

The Solution

The Pinnacle Wellbeing and Safety Committee recommended that mental health responder training was offered widely to staff. When exploring training options, Pinnacle naturally considered the EMA as it is a current Member and uses its services for Health and Safety Representative training.

It opted for the course Mental Health First Aid Aotearoa, licensed by Te Pou, a two-day programme that empowers people within an organisation to provide safe, practical, caring responses to anyone experiencing anxiety, depression, psychosis or suffering with a mental health disorder.

“We knew it would be a quality course, given Te Pou’s endorsement and certification process,” says Director of Organisational Development Tammy Hebditch.
“Staff were asking for mental health training, (and this was conveyed through the Wellbeing and Safety Committee), so it was an easy sell.
“We opened the training up for anyone to attend and asked for expressions of interest on our internal communication platform. We received an overwhelming response, which saw keen participants placed on a waiting list.
“Over two months, we trained nearly 25% or our workforce in mental health first aid. Our commitment is that if anyone wants to complete the course, we will cover the cost for the training.”

The Result

The EMA’s skilled, licenced mental health first aid facilitators used a mixture of content delivery methods, including PowerPoint presentation, storytelling and individual and group activities.

“In our view, having two facilitators for the two-day course was necessary to cover the serious topic of mental health and to cater to different areas,” says Hebditch.

“We had a great deal of interest, with some travelling from as far away as Gisborne to Hamilton to attend the in-person course.

“We are always looking for ways to better support and develop the workforce.”

Informal feedback received from attendees was overwhelmingly positive:

“The facilitator’s different styles complemented each other.”
“Felt safe in the environment.”
“Really opened my eyes into what people with mental illnesses suffer from. Gave me the right tools to be able to support them when they are having a hard time. I really enjoyed the opportunity to do roleplays to put our knowledge into practice.”
“I loved it. Straight to the point, kept the students engaged and entertained. Definitely opened my eyes up to mental health a bit more.”

Outcomes

Two personal anecdotes were shared that underline the benefits of Pinnacle utilising the EMA’s Become a Mental Health First Aider course:

“I finished the two-day course on a Friday and the following Monday a person in an agitated state presented at reception. I was able to confidently speak with the visitor and manage their concerns using the skills learnt at the Mental Health First Aid Course. If I hadn’t completed the course, then I would have wondered whether I was being helpful or worsening the situation. There has been another similar incident since then, and both times I felt I was able to be compassionate and supportive, knowing the role of a Mental Health First Aider.”
“My 25-year-old daughter has been living with me, following a traumatic long-term relationship. As a result of this relationship, she began self-harming. We celebrated milestones where she didn’t self-harm. The night before I attended day one of the programme, she fell off the wagon. Thankfully, she shared this with me. I really didn’t know what to say or do. After day one, I was armed with the tools to have a conversation with her – including simply listening – and this helped her, restored her mana and her resolve. Were it not for MHFA, I could have really mucked the opportunity up.”