A new webpage on balancegateshead.com has been launched to provide line managers with easy access to guidance and documentation that has been created with them in mind, and in the wider aim of supporting Gateshead colleagues during difficult times.
The new Manager Guides page branches off from our wider Manager Support area, where line managers can also find useful resources around team wellbeing, team-building, OD support, personal development, health and wellbeing check-ins and much more.
Responding to the passing of a colleague, a terminal illness or a traumatic incident:
On our newest page, line managers can find our newly-launched organisational guidance on responding to the death of a colleague, terminal illness or a traumatic incident.
The guidance aims to help managers to understand the key role they play, as well as the responsibilities they have, following a traumatic event which involves one of their team. This is inclusive of the passing of a colleague, or diagnosis of a terminal illness. As a manager, you’ll find helpful information about important Trust processes that must be followed in these events, as well as on the support that is available to both you and your team.
It is our hope that this guide will provide clarity around what to do in the first instance. However, the guide should also be useful in guiding you through practicalities such as how you can create the flexibility and space for colleagues affected while continuing to ensure service delivery, and how communications should be managed. Key contacts are also included, as well as information on how and when you may include them – helping you to more confidently navigate more practical considerations such as payroll, pension, employee records and more.
Also available on our new manager guides page is the recently-released guidance for supporting staff who are experiencing a mental health crisis. This document, primarily targeted at line managers, aims to outline the appropriate response to and support in such a situation.
Within the guide, managers can find guidance and steps which should be taken if and when someone is at immediate risk of, or who has expressed thoughts of taking their own life. Key principles of support are also provided, outlining the importance of listening, reassurance and remaining calm in such a situation.
Also included are alternative routes of support for those in crisis, while support routes for managers looking to practice self-care and look after their own wellbeing after such an event can also be found within.
Other guidance and content:
Further guides will be published to this area in the future. Managers can also find more information around the different types of Occupational Health Referrals available in this area, and can find more support and guidance on our Manager Support page.
