Minister heaps praise on MINDFUL EMPLOYER

Posted on 20th October, 2014

Around 200 delegates attended the conference to celebrate ten years of the Trust's MINDFUL EMPLOYER initiative in Exeter this week. Following opening remarks by Julie Dent (Chair) and Melanie Walker (Chief Executive), Dame Carol Black talked about a wide range of issues related to health in the workplace. She was followed by Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care and Support and keynote speaker at the event. Mr Lamb talked passionately about the inequalities that currently exist between physical health and mental health and said it was a situation that must be addressed, and quickly. He heaped praise on the MINDFUL EMPLOYER initiative and what it has achieved in the last decade. Three new signatories to the MINDFUL EMPLOYER Charter, for employers who are Positive About Mental Health, were unveiled at the event. They included the Morrisons supermarket chain - which now becomes the largest employer to have signed-up. The conference also offered delegates a choice of workshops during the day, including Recovery and Work, Bullying and Harassment, Understanding and Preventing Suicide, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol and the Workplace.  All in all, it was a hugely successful event and the MINDFUL EMPLOYER team were rightly congratulated on the success of the initiative and the anniversary conference. No birthday would be complete without the cake, and Dame Carol Black and Norman Lamb performed a ceremonial cutting of the tenth anniversary cake, which delegates later consumed! Lucy Aggett, daughter of Workways team member Lynn Aggett, sang a selection of her own songs and played guitar beautifully at the start of the conference and during the breaks. To see the conference papers and watch the MINDFUL EMPLOYER film, made especially for the tenth anniversary event, click here.  To find out more about MINDFUL EMPLOYER visit www.mindfulemployer.net or contact Richard Frost on 01392 677050 or at richard.frost2@nhs.net   Pictured above: Melanie Walker, Chief Executive with Julie Dent CBE, Chair next to Mindful Employer initiative creator Richard Frost and honoured guests Dame Carol Black and Norman Lamb MP