An open letter from mental health leaders showing support for frontline workers
21 January 2021
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Our CEO Tracey Bleakley is among the leaders of nearly 20 organisations to have jointly signed an open letter showing their solidarity with frontline workers, and encouraging them to access the resources offered by Our Frontline, which we are proud to be a part of.
Right across the UK throughout the COVID19 global pandemic, people have responded to the challenges with extraordinary determination, creativity and care.
As a group of Mental Health Leaders, we want staff working across health, care and education (both formal and informal) to know that we appreciate you and know how central your contributions are to sustaining the mental health of the nation.
We are grateful for your courage, resilience and humanity in the face of ever-changing circumstances and relentlessly difficult choices. We also acknowledge the pressures on your mental and physical wellbeing. Supporting you must be a national priority over the coming months.
We have been heartened that leaders of organisations have prioritised your wellbeing and mental health, but this has not been a universal experience. It is vital that excellent support is available in all organisations, and that all staff know about the additional mental health support that is available through Our Frontline.
Our Frontline is for all health, care, emergency, education and key workers. It offers one to one support by call or text as well as resources, tips and ideas to look after your mental health. If you want to talk you can call 0800 069 6222 from 7am – 11pm if you are in England or 116 123 from anywhere else in the UK.
The COVID19 vaccine provides us with hope, and we will prevail. But there is still a distance to travel and there will be more difficult days ahead. This is a heartfelt message of recognition and solidarity with you and your families. It is important to take the wellbeing of keyworkers seriously both now and for a long time to come. We will work tirelessly to ensure your mental health is at the heart of the recovery.
Finally, we urge government, employers and society as a whole to make sure that those who are looking after us have the best possible support, a vital step we cannot afford to ignore.
Julie Bentley CEO, Samaritans
Simon Blake CEO, Mental Health First Aid England
Tracey Bleakley CEO, Hospice UK
Brian Dow CEO, Mental Health UK
Sean Duggan CEO, Mental Health Network, The NHS Confederation
Paul Farmer CEO, Mind
Peter Fonagy CEO, The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
Victoria Hornby CEO, Mental Health Innovations
Sarah Hughes CEO, Centre for Mental Health
Poppy Jaman CEO, City Mental Health Alliance
Adrian James President, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Chris Martin CEO, The Mix
Paula Ojok CEO, Helplines Partnership
Catherine Roache CEO, Place2Be
Kathy Roberts CEO, Association of Mental Health Providers
