Supporting Staff with their Mental Health - Guidance for Line Managers

Our guidance for line managers on supporting staff with their mental health aims to bring together the wealth of mental wellbeing support that is available to you and any other Gateshead Health colleague.

Within the guide, you’ll find information on:

• Manager training opportunities to build your confidence
• Reasonable adjustments and tools that can prompt them
• Internal and peer support offers that can help support staff
• Psychological support providers that can support colleagues
• Where to raise concerns about or seek support for experiences of unacceptable behaviour(s)
• Further support including further opportunities available through Learning & Development, more manager support guides, where to access urgent support and more

Guidance for tackling Stress at Work

In December 2025, we launched a new and more proactive approach to tackling stress at work. Based in prevention of stress in the first instance, our approach is complemented by the resources and efforts to help staff in protecting against stress through self-management and regulation, and ensures those who are at risk of or experiencing burnout can access professional support when they need it.

Amongst the guides and resources available to assist you with this include:

• Our guidance for tackling stress at work: A comprehensive guide to our approach to stress at work within the Gateshead Group, inclusive of definition of stress and the responsibilities we have to identify and tackle it; proactive tools that are available to help prevent stress; wellbeing support offers that can help colleagues to self-manage and regulate stress; and professional support for those at risk of or experiencing burnout.
• Stress Risk Assessment: Our stress risk assessment tool, suitable for use with individuals and teams, aimed at identifying work-related stressors across the 6 HSE Management Standards while also providing space to raise non-work related stressors; enabling the ability to risk rate stressors and plan and capture control measures and actions which can be taken to reduce, limit or remove stress.
• Stress Risk Assessment guide for line managers: Guidance for line managers on how to use the Stress Risk Assessment tool for both individuals and teams, including the stress risk matrix for assigning a risk rating to stressors and potential control measures and actions that can be taken to mitigate stress across the 6 HSE Management Standards.

To ensure you’re downloading the latest copy of these documents, please click the button below to be taken to the Occupational Health page on StaffZone.

Responding to the death of a colleague, terminal illness or a tramatic incident

This guidance aims to help managers understand the key role they play, as well as the responsibilities they have, following a traumatic event involving one of their team. This includes the passing of a colleague, or diagnosis of a terminal illness. As a manager, you’ll find helpful information about Trust processes that must be followed during these times, as well as around the support that is available to you and your team.

We hope that this guide provides you with clarity on what to do in the first instance. However, the guide should also be useful in guiding you through some of the practicalities, such as how you might be able to create flexibility and space for colleagues who are affected while maintaining the delivery of your service, and how communications should be managed.

Key contacts are also included, in addition to guidance on how and when they might be involved with processes that are aimed to supporting all who are impacted – including colleagues, friends and family. Considerations like payroll, pension, employee records and more are also covered to help you navigate each step with confidence.

Also included in the guide’s appendices are processes, letter templates, support resources and checklists, helping keep things simple wherever possible.

Supporting Staff during times of crisis

Our guidance for supporting staff who are experiencing a mental health crisis sets out the steps that should be taken (usually by line managers) in response to such events and in support of the person affected.

Within the guide, you’ll find information 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.

Additionally, key principles of support are provided, outlining the importance of listening, reassurance and remaining calm as a manager in such a situation.

Elsewhere, alternative routes of support for those in crisis are provided. Furthermore, support routes for managers looking to practice self-care and look after their own wellbeing after such an event can also be found in this guide.

Guide to supporting colleagues with ADHD at work

Our guide to supporting colleagues with ADHD in the workplace outlines the practical changes that can be made to support neurodivergent colleagues.

Included in this guide are examples of reasonable adjustments that could be made to support colleagues across areas such as feedback, flexibility, communication, the working environment, technology and more.

If you’re supporting a colleague who has ADHD or who is neurodivergent, we would also advise checking out our Neurodiversity webpage for more tools/support – and particularly the Health Passport for a document to record and regularly review adjustments.

Menopause Support & Guidance

Gateshead Health is aiming to be a menopause-friendly employer, and partners with Henpicked to provide colleagues with accesss to a range of support and resources.

Over on our dedicated menopause support page, you’ll be able to find support, resources and signposting for staff about all things menopause – but did you know there is also a range of guidance specifically targeted towards managers that is designed to help you understand how you can better support those experiencing symptoms?

Additionally, there is a national Menopause Awareness eLearning programme that may be of use in helping you understand the potential impact of menopause, how it may present and how you may be able to support colleagues who are experiencing symptoms.

Gateshead Group Manager Handbook

The Learning and Development team’s Manager Handbook is designed to be of use for all people managers across Gateshead Health and QE Facilities. Within, the handbook highlights a range of key resources and processes associated with people management, and also signposts and links to further guidance.

Contents of the handbook include:

1. Gateshead Health’s vision, values and objectives, including an overview of the NHS People Promise
2. The People and Organisational Development support options available to people managers, including useful team contacts
3. Systems a people manager may use, including info on rostering, IT support and more
4. The employee journey, including resources and info around recruitment, induction, appraisal, pay progression, team development, supporting wellbeing, managing performance, handling employee concerns, staff departures and more
5. A manager’s information governance and budget management responsibilities, including information on useful contacts, budget reporting and procurement processes
6. A StaffZone link to even more useful management forms and guidance

To learn more about our Learning & Development Team, head over to their StaffZone area – and don’t forget to keep up to date with all the latest news and opportunities by reading their regularly published newsletter, #AlwaysLearning.

Sickness Absence Toolkit

The NHS Employers’ Sickness Absence Toolkit is all about supporting line managers to have both confidence and consistency every step of the way when it comes to discussing and managing sickness absence.

Within the toolkit is advice and guidance on situations including what do when staff report that they are unwell, when they frequently report sickness and where there is long-term sickness. Also included is guidance around various reasons for absence, supporting staff who are off sick and preparing for returns to work.

The expectations of Line Managers in relation to People Management

NHS England’s framework for line managers aims to clearly outline the expectations of line managers in relation to people management.

Within, the document covers what managers need to know and understand, what managers need to do, key manager behaviour expectations and how HR and OD can support this across the following topics:

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)
• Recruiting
• Inducting and onboarding
• Employee health and wellbeing
• Flexible working
• Employee engagement and experience
• Developing employees
• Enabling employee and team performance
• Supporting attendance
• Managing employee concerns & complaints
• Managing exits
• Enabling change and transformation
• Workforce planning and rostering
• Managing data and using technology
• Being self-aware and developing yourself

In addition to this, within the appendices of the framwork are a host of associated resources, all designed to support you in implementation of good practice around the topics above.

Referrals

All Occupational Health Referrals should be completed through our dedicated Occupational Health Referral forms, which can be viewed and downloaded via StaffZone. If you have any queries about referrals, please contact us on [email protected] or call 0191 445 5494.

NHS Staff Wellbeing Needs

The Hierarchy of NHS Staff Wellbeing Needs is a poster created by NHS Employers and which highlights the importance of getting access to basic wellbeing needs like hydration, sleep and sufficient breaks as the first step in helping keep our people healthy at work.