Dr Tony Romero, Cygnet Health Care CEO, joined the company in 2017, having previously served as Managing Director and then CEO at Cambian Adult Services. This article will look at Cygnet Health Care’s implementation of the Sustaining Resilience at Work (StRaW) scheme, a peer support system developed to help boost resilience and identify and prevent mental health issues.
Sally Whittle-Long is an HR Administer with Cygnet Health Care and a trained StRaW Practitioner. She has seen for herself how the scheme helps to promote staff wellbeing. As Sally points out, StRaW is incredibly useful when it comes to the mental health of colleagues, encouraging staff to look after each other and treat those who are struggling with compassion.
The responsibility for looking out for colleagues lies not only with management but with other colleagues too. StRaW Practitioners are there to listen and show compassion, making mental health conversations easier and providing colleagues who are experiencing mental health issues with the reassurance of knowing that someone cares.
Under the StRaW system, referrals to a StRaW Practitioner may be made by a line manager or colleague. Alternatively, a member of staff can self-refer. StRaW volunteers make themselves available to colleagues who need someone to talk to, with their StRaW training equipping them to guide a colleague through a StRaW assessment before providing them with signposting and sourcing relevant help and assistance.
Sally Whittle-Long became involved with StRaW because she is passionate about the wellbeing of Cygnet staff and is an advocate for colleagues looking out for each other. She points out that it is often colleagues working together day in, day out, who pick up on subtle changes in mood and behaviour, highlighting the importance of getting the word out so that everyone knows there is a pathway to follow if they spot something in a colleague that makes them concerned for their welfare. Instilling greater awareness of StRaW across an organisation means struggling colleagues do not have to face mental health challenges alone.
Developed by leading mental health professionals, including the esteemed occupational, academic and forensic psychiatrist Professor Neil Greenberg, StRaW is unique from many other psychological first aid packages in that it focusses not only on specific mental health conditions prevalent in the working population but is also designed as a comprehensive peer-based support system capable of being deployed in high-pressure organisations. The aim of StRaW is to educate, inform and enable delegates to take action to bolster resilience.
A resilient workplace is a vital component in building a stronger company capable of weathering market challenges. Recognising the need to support staff experiencing mental health problems, Dr Tony Romero spearheaded Cygnet Health Care’s StRaW programme, implementing the initiative to ensure that all health and social care colleagues have a channel to tap into for help when required.
In 2022, Cygnet Health Care was shortlisted for two categories at the HSJ Partnership Awards, namely Workforce & Wellbeing Initiative of the Year and Most Impactful Project Addressing Health Inequalities. Following an intense and in-depth judging process, the judging panel shortlisted Cygnet Health Care in recognition of the company’s ambition, visionary spirit and demonstrable impact on patient and staff experiences within the health and social care sector.
