Sanctuary Care receives mental health and wellbeing award
The team at Sanctuary Care are celebrating after receiving a national award for how well we support the mental health and wellbeing of our staff.
We are delighted to have received a Highly Commended accolade in the Make A Difference Awards – as a not-for-profit employer that has made the most difference to workplace mental health and wellbeing over the past year.
Neil Quinn, Sanctuary Care’s Director of HR said “This recognition is testament to our commitment to our vision at Sanctuary Care – to enrich the lives of our residents - and the amazing staff we have caring for them.
“And by empowering our staff to look after their own mental health and wellbeing and confidently support one another, we will create a culture where people truly thrive.”
As an employer Sanctuary Care wanted to create an open culture where people can talk freely about mental health, without judgement. We commissioned wellbeing research with our care home managers in 2021 and, listening to our staff, used this to shape our actions over the past 18 months.
Our mental health strategy is being rolled out across our care homes and central services. This includes delivery of a Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) course, which we used to train over 100 MHFAs in 2022 alone. The training gives people the skills to spot the signs that someone is experiencing mental ill health, approach the topic comfortably and signpost effectively.
The nomination highlighted how we have created our own ‘Cultivating Confident Conversations’ workshops and one-to-one sessions to guide managers on how to approach conversations around mental health, so we are compassionate, open and supportive.
Our menopause training raises awareness about how symptoms can affect people, so we can talk openly and respectfully support our colleagues.
We’ve invested in a service where staff can have consultations for mental health, bereavement and nutritional support, a health check, digital GP appointments and expert second medical opinions for employees and family members – all for free.
Our staff networks, such as our Disability Network and PRISM (for LGBTQ+ employees and allies) connect colleagues who share experiences, support one another and drive positive change.
For more about working for Sanctuary Care, please visit our recruitment pages, or for information about care options or our homes, please call our Enquiry Support Team on 0800 138 5448.
