Healthwatch Southampton WELL AT WORK 2019 Well Work

Healthwatch Southampton WELL AT WORK 2019 Well @ Work Business Breakfast June 2019, organised by Southampton City Council

Healthwatch Southampton WELLBEING AT WORK Healthwatch Southampton is keen to engage with all communities in the city and this includes the business community. People tell us that employment can create a barrier to people accessing the health services they need e. g. allowing time off work. People say they can experience stigma at work connected with their health conditions. 2 Discussion at the breakfast meeting: • Wellbeing champions in workplaces are important. • People want more ways to make it OK to talk about mental health. • People think health and wellbeing noticeboards are important and could be much more engaging. • Taking wellbeing seriously mean businesses can thrive. We want employers to be more understanding about the health issues we face and flexible to help us access health services We welcome the Well @ Work scheme run by Southampton City Council. This can be found following the link below. It offers tips and support to employers about how they can improve their staff’s health and wellbeing: https: //www. southampton. gov. uk/healthsocial-care/health/workplace-wellbeingcharter/employees-health-conditions. aspx Healthwatch Southampton joined in the Well @Work business breakfast on 25 June 2019 and arranged for this event to be graphically recorded. Lynn Murphy from Southampton City Council’s Well @ Work scheme with Tammy Oliver graphic recorder for this event. During the breakfast meeting, we ran a workshop on how employers can work together on their noticeboards, to help employers and employees share information about health and wellbeing, address barriers and stigma about health conditions, and help people access health support. The template below was then created. This is the template health and wellbeing noticeboard which was produced as a result of the workshop on 25. 06. 19 Importantly, it includes wellbeing news and events, ideas sharing and a “You Said, We Did” section to help employers show they are responding to their employees’ needs. This can be used by all organisations including those that deliver health services themselves. Download a copy via Healthwatch Southampton or Southampton City Council’s Well @ Work.

Healthwatch Southampton 3 Employees are worried about taking time off work to access their health Next steps and recommendation Southampton City Council’s Well @ Work continues to develop interesting initiatives, including an Employee Recognition Scheme, to encourage local employers to develop wellbeing initiatives. We encourage people and employers to sign up to join this network. Healthwatch Southampton: • will continue to engage with the business community about their role in health, and listen to workers’ experiences of health services; • encourage more venues to enhance the quality of their noticeboards and information. Alongside staff noticeboards, this includes public noticeboards and those in health venues such as GP surgeries and hospitals. We recommend that local health organisations such as NHS Trusts and charities: • share their own good practice through the Well @ Work initiative, and learn from others involved in this network; • promote local initiatives such as out of hours GP services with employers; • consider ways to support employers with their staff’s health issues and understand associated barriers to timely care; • consider ways to make their staff and public health and wellbeing noticeboards and information (1) up-to-date, (2) relevant to the audience and (3) encourage further conversation and sharing of ideas. Together, Healthwatch Southampton, NHS Trusts and Well @ Work could consider whether further research would be helpful to understand health issues for employers, employees and people who work for themselves. Have your say Share your ideas and experiences and help services hear what works, what doesn’t, and what you want from care in the future. www. healthwatchlocal. co. uk w: www. healthwatchsouthampton. co. uk t: 023 03000 8021 6838018 000 e: healthwatch@southamptonvs. org. uk enquiries@healthwatchlocal. co. uk