by Anna Poulton 

The In-Work Support Service is a new, Welsh Government funded service being delivered by Minds in Powys. It is a 2 years’ project focussed on reducing the impact of health issues in the workplace. It is aimed at individuals and businesses, providing therapeutic support for employees and training and advice to businesses throughout Powys.

Namrata Bhardwa (Nami) and I (Anna Poulton) are the manager and coordinator for the service respectively and we have recently been employed by Mid and North Powys Mind who are facilitating the service. The In-Work support service will be using therapies offered by regional Minds in Powys to deliver the Mental Health individual therapies and the wellbeing and training aspects of business support.

Why are we needed?

The service has been available in other areas of Wales for a while now, and our service now means that all local authorities in Wales have an In-Work Support Service. The Welsh Government is developing a new strategy for Mental Health 2023 and this service, which is also part of Healthy Working Wales, will help to deliver this.

Who can use the service?

Anyone 16 or over who is in employment or off sick from their job, an apprentice or self-employed who lives in Powys can access our support. Referrals can come from anyone, yourself, your GP, your employer, etc. You can contact via the website, email or a phone call to Nami or Anna is all that’s needed. The same applies to businesses, and small/medium enterprises based in Powys are eligible for support.

What support can we offer?

We can offer rapid access to high quality mental health and physical therapies, training and specialist support delivered by Mid & North Powys Mind, Brecon & District Mind, Mind Ystradgynlais and a range of external partners.

We can currently offer:
Counselling.

One to One support.

Supported Self Help.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and Hypnotherapy.

Physiotherapy.

Osteopathy.

Employee training.

Wellbeing advice & support.

Employment law specialist support.

The therapeutic support is set out across up to 6 free sessions, and the business support is delivered in a tailored package by either Nami, Mind’s training staff, or Rradar-our specialist law firm – depending on their needs. 

As an example, we could provide advice around employee policies such as creating, updating or overhauling a family friendly policy. We could provide legal advice around HR issues. We could help with implementing wellbeing tools into the workplace such as a Wellbeing Hour. Staff training could be provided to some or all staff; examples of this training are: 5 Ways to Wellbeing, Mental Health Awareness, Tai Chi and other relaxation techniques, Assertiveness Skills and Stress & Anxiety Management and many more which can be adapted to suit a business’s needs.

At the moment Nami and I are meeting and getting to know other services available to the people we will be supporting. This will help us to signpost to further support, provide a continuation of support for people who are receiving support elsewhere and to make sure that we can signpost people to the appropriate support if they don’t match our criteria.

It has been great to meet so many like-minded people and learn about all of the other great support providers in Powys. We have already made some really valuable connections and are continuing to make more and more as time goes on.

We held a launch day at PAVO in Llandrindod Wells on the 4th of September. Nami and I presented an overview of the service to the audience including: local businesses, Mind employees, Welsh Government representatives, colleagues from other support providers such as Department for Work & Pensions and members of the public. 

The launch went really well; I had never presented to a room full of people before so I was very nervous! We started off with a short quiz as an icebreaker which also helped to settle my nerves. The room at Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations was really well set out. It was bright, the technology all worked and we had plenty of space. We had a warm welcome and everybody enjoyed the lunch at the end which was supplied by The Herb Garden. I’d like to thank PAVO in Llandrindod Wells for all of their help.

Who am I?

I’m Anna, I have recently begun working for Mid and North Powys Mind in Llandrindod Wells and have 20 years’ experience of previously working in the adult health care and support sector. My job as Service Coordinator is doing the admin for the service, I run the social media and I meet clients to see if they are eligible. I have also spent some of my time out in the community promoting the service at events such as the Cost of Living Fair in the Pavilion in Llandrindod Wells and in some supermarket foyers across Powys. 

In my spare time I am an animal lover, I have 3 dogs and 2 cats who take up a lot of my time! I am a volunteer for Many Tears Animal Rescue, I check that people’s homes are suitable for the pet that they would like to adopt. I also enjoy craft, especially knitting and making Christmas decorations.

For more information about the service and how to refer yourself, please visit our dedicated In-Work Support Service Powys website.