On Wednesday, 22 January, the European Parliament in Brussels hosted an event to present the Mental Health First Aid model designed and disseminated by the professionals of the Hospitaller Order in Ireland. 

In the presence and under the patronage of the first Vice-President of the EU Parliament, Mairead McGuinness, Dr Donal Scanlan explained the programme implemented by the St John of God Psychiatric Hospital in Dublin to promote initial care and psychological support in the workplace, in order to ensure adequate preparation to be able to recognise and manage employee mental health, stress and burnout issues as soon as possible. 

The Mental Health First Aid team at Dublin’s Psychiatric Hospital comprising some 40 professionals plays a leading role in this field at the national level, having already trained over 7000 operators in Ireland.  The professionals in the same team have also been tasked with running this training programme on the initial management of mental health issues in the workplace in the European Parliament itself, which employs about 7,500 people.

In addition to familiarising people on the most current issues in mental health, the model will also help to reduce the stigma associated with the most common illnesses and to spread best practices to improve the working environment and cooperation beween colleagues.

This European Parliament event follows in the wake of the work that the Hospitality Europe office has been promoting in the EU in recent years, particular the pilot project on the prevention of violent behaviour in psychiatric patients, financed with over 1 million euros.