World Mental Health Day
07 Oct 19 - 07 Oct 20
10 October marks World Mental Health Day and Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s (HPFT) is coming together for the 13th successive year as a community of providers, carers and service users for the annual Recovery Conference events.
“Community” is a key theme for this year’s Recovery Conferences
The conferences provide an opportunity to hear from experts by experience who are finding ways to help themselves move forward on their recovery/discovery journeys regardless of their individual challenges. “Community” is a key theme for this year’s Recovery Conferences which will include a session to talk about how we can support those who feel isolated and forgotten and help them to connect and recover.
Consultant Clinical Psychologist and HPFT’s Head of Recovery and Psychological Services Andrew Nicholls said: “I am encouraged about where we are at with mental health in Hertfordshire and beyond. There is a real and tangible movement towards Recovery and inclusion, which is so often met with willingness from others to really hear and understand. This is powerful medicine indeed!”
Suicide Prevention
The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Day is suicide prevention. In May this year, HPFT's Spot the Signs campaign launched a free life-saving app called “Stay Alive”. The app aims to help people in times of crisis, by providing tools to help keep people safer. You can download the app here: bit.ly/StayAliveHerts
HPFT’s Director of Quality and Safety and Chief Nurse Dr Jane Padmore said: “Talking about mental health problems is a great way to begin dealing with the issues and helps to break down the stigma, but some people find it difficult to talk to others for a variety of reasons. The Stay Alive app is packed with advice and information and has some really useful features, as well as contact details for organisations in Hertfordshire who can help. It’s free to download, so please show it to other people and help spread the word - it could save a person’s life.”
HPFT is a member of the Hertfordshire Suicide Prevention Network which has a vision is to make Hertfordshire a county where no one ever gets to a point where they feel suicide is their only option. As members of the Zero Suicide Alliance, HPFT encourages everyone to complete their free suicide prevention training - it only takes 20 minutes, so please encourage everyone you know to complete it… https://zerosuicidealliance.com/.