Sunday, November 11, 2012

Blog 11 Royal Marines Help Hospital


Not everyone is capable of dealing with the issues of post-traumatic stress however the Royal Marines have their methods of helping them cope. It was developed by the Royal Marines and has been used by a number of police forces and fire services too and helps staff identify the signs of stress and trauma in colleagues and equips them to engage with them, offering support or helping them to access other support services within the health board, if needed. Techniques developed by the Royal Marines on how to deal with stress are being used by hospital staff working in an accident and emergency (A&E) unit. It is part of a year-long pilot scheme at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales (UHW). It comes after 83% of A&E UHW staff said they needed more support to deal with work-related stress and anxiety. Staff will also be trained to spot potential signs of stress and anxiety in colleagues and deal with it appropriately. Staff has had training similar to that used by marines to deal with "mental rigors" of their day to day role. As well as the obvious human and social costs, it is estimated that mental health problems cost the Welsh economy £7.2bn every year, and we encourage all employers to make staff mental health and wellbeing a priority           
Now that this program is out there it will help so many Cardiff hospital staff deal with stress, something they were not able to cope with.  It is creating a culture where people feel confident to talk about their mental health and better inform to support each other can only be a positive thing for individual staff members, patients and the department as a whole. Also, when one is in control of themselves and their emotions they tend to work harder and more efficiently, and that is very critical at a hospital. Apart for that, the money they are spending on stress related problems will slowly decrease and end up benefiting everyone.

Alexa Florencio-Picazo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20225371

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