Men’s Health Awareness Month: welfare afternoon ‘a great success’
10 December 2024
A number of Federation members benefitted from a welfare afternoon hosted by branch representatives in November to mark Men’s Health Awareness Month.
Workplace reps Rob Wilcockson, Martin Scott and DI James Jenkinson were on hand at Scarborough Police Station one day in November to check in with fellow officers on anything related to their physical or mental wellness.
Visitors to the session, which ran from 12pm to 3pm, were given useful information on support available to them and had the opportunity to join in open conversations about wellbeing in the station’s conference room, or even discuss any health concerns in confidence with a rep.
The Force's welfare van out and about.
Refreshments and buffet food were on offer throughout the afternoon, with the Force’s welfare van also in place nearby for officers to make more of a flying visit and have a quick sit-down and chat while on duty.
Rob, who was running an event of this kind for the first time as a Fed rep, said: “It was a great success and a few hours well spent.
“To get about 25 to 30 of us together in a room, having valuable interactions on men’s health was really pleasing.
New officers
“With the recent arrivals of new officers in the Force, I think it was nice for some newer members to come down and put a name of the people representing them to a face. Hopefully, they came away feeling like the Fed is really there for them when it comes to welfare and wellbeing.”
Echoing this, Martin added: “As a Fed rep, I thought it was really well received by our members who attended, so I am happy we were able to help them all in some way.
“But as a man, I got so much out of it myself – I just wish this kind of openness from men was around all the time, rather than just on one day. You could genuinely feel the willingness in the room to open up and support one another, and I know that would have done everyone a lot of good.”
After visitors were given an introduction to the event by Scarborough’s coast commander Superintendent Rachel Wood, they were told more about North Yorkshire Police’s occupational welfare department and its counselling opportunities.
A light was then shone on support platforms such as the nationally recognised Oscar Kilo, York-based male social community Menfulness, and emergency services wellbeing app Backup Buddy UK.
In keeping with a focus on mental health, the Force’s Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRiM) was another a topic of discussion.
“Men generally aren’t good talkers – that stigma is still there that they must have the strength to be above sharing their feelings,” Rob continued.
Resilient
“When you throw in being a police officer on top of that, that adds another potential barrier to talking. We are looked at to be strong and resilient on the job and to leave our vulnerabilities at home – but we are still only human.
“As a force, we have lost some good cops and good friends to suicide – sometimes, those who were most smiley and bubbly. And that impacts us as an organisation, because we’re a family, and any loss is felt across the county.”
Some time was also devoted to a conversation around physical health, Martin pointed out.
He said: “We wanted to touch on the types of health checks which again, men, more so than women, might tend to avoid or forget about.
“I took a blood test three years ago at work which honestly saved my life – but it was a completely unplanned, spur-of-the-moment thing. With a history of heart attacks in my family, I feel so fortunate that I just happened to take the test when I did.
“I have been on medication for high blood pressure ever since, which I feel there is also a bit of a stigma around to keep private about.
Character
“So, we also talked honestly about being on medication, and the fact it is nothing anyone should feel the need to hide or be embarrassed about.”
Rob went on to pay tribute to the female officers present at the session, believing it was testament to their character to have such awareness and care for the health of their male colleagues.
He rounded off by highlighting the need for men in policing to take the time to look after their health.
“It’s vitally important – we all work an essential job, whatever role we perform. Whether you’re struggling with a physical injury or some mental or emotional difficulties, you shouldn’t carry on as normal just because you’re a man or a police officer.
“The welfare afternoon really reinforced to me why I’m doing what I’m doing as a Fed rep – it was fantastic to make some connections with officers I represent.
“And it was an example of how invested the Federation is into its members’ health and wellbeing. If you ever need help, you can always reach out to us.”
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