We worked in partnership with Sport Birmingham and the City of Birmingham Hockey Club to deliver a regulated Level 1 Award in Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health qualification. The qualification seeks to support learners to acquire the knowledge to identify suspected mental health conditions and the skills to start a conversation and be able to signpost the person towards professional help. The course was delivered virtually via an online classroom.
The club were proactive in organising the workshop as they understand that mental health and wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important topic and a hot topic within society and sport. Jeevan Chagger (Chairman) from the club said:
“As a community club we have a responsibility and duty of care to our members and participants in order to support them as much as we can. For us, we identified that we required a greater number of our members in positions of influence and authority to gain a deeper understanding into mental health and awareness of its various forms in order to better support our membership. In doing so, we are hoping to be able to support promoting positive mental health as well as utilising local services and knowledge where additional support or professional support may be required”
The workshop has enabled us to gain a better understanding of mental health and how this may present in individuals. It has also given us the opportunity to discuss best practice and how as a club we can implement a framework to suit the needs of our audiences. More importantly, it equips more of our members with the tools to be able to identify any signs of mental health issues and support individuals or groups of members should this be required, using a measured and appropriate pathway in providing this support or seeking further advice”