How the RMHC is changing our industry
Southeastern’s Lee Woolcott-Ellis ACIRO, founder of the Railway Mental Health Charter, told us about his motivations and findings so far.
Lee Woolcott-Ellis ACIROFounder, Railway Mental Health Charter
Lee Woolcott-Ellis ACIRO is the Mental Health Lead at Southeastern. He also founded the Railway Mental Health Charter (RMHC), industry’s first dedicated framework to help promote, manage, and support workforce mental wellbeing. He spoke with us about his own mental health journey, his motivation for starting the RMHC, and the benefits it’s already creating.
In my 20+ years on the railway, I’ve been a guard, conductor, and onboard manager. I’ve also worked in engineering, safety, and HR. But if someone had told me 10 years ago that I’d be leading on mental health and trauma risk management, I wouldn’t have believed them.
In 2013, I was diagnosed with complex PTSD. A lot of my issues go right back to childhood, but it took until quite late in my adult life for me to recognise that and to ask for help. Still, finally having a label for my condition explained a bit about me and how I reacted to things.
But I thought to myself, ‘Why didn’t I do this years ago?’ What if I could have gone to someone and said, ‘I’m really struggling. I need some help’.
So, I thought, let’s create that person. In late 2017, I designed a concept that became Southeastern’s Mental Health Advocate Programme. I approached the Railway Chaplain for Southeastern and spoke to the head of drivers, and they thought it was a fantastic idea. And in early 2018, the board agreed.
Southeastern had signed the Time to Change pledge some years ago. That framework allowed us to ensure that we were doing the best we could to support our colleagues. But, in 2021, the campaign came to an end.
So, I started having discussions about what we could do to keep our mental health activities going. A lot of what was out there required some financing, only for the company to tell us how good of a job we were doing. But I wanted to hear it from our own colleagues.
I wanted something that was more fit for our industry and what we do. So, I created a framework. And with the help and support of Joanna Faustino, RSSB’s Principal Health and Wellbeing Specialist, it became something that the whole of our industry could use and benefit from.
The RMHC is based on best practice. We often talk with our Charter members, sharing information and what’s worked well. This allows us to pass these learnings to other members to help them benefit, too.
Let’s face it, the railway can be a dangerous environment. We’ve introduced a lot of measures to make it a safe place to work, but there’s still a lot of electricity, a lot of heavy objects moving, and a lot of other inherent dangers.
We need to make sure that our colleagues working in these unique environments feel resilient and like they’re in a good mental place. If they are, they’re more able to concentrate and make sure they don’t make mistakes that could be harmful.
The best way to do that is to make sure everyone’s looking after themselves. That’s where we come in. People now have the opportunity to access information and ongoing support. They know where to go for help.
The benefits really became apparent during the pandemic. The media was inferring that if we go outside, we’ll probably die. That was pretty scary.
We had colleagues working in that environment, potentially exposing themselves to the virus, and then going home. They were so worried about what could happen—so worried that we saw a 333% increase in engagement during that time.
More recently, there’s been a lower number of absences. There’s also evidence to show that we’ve reduced mental health-related stigma in the workplace.
We’ve also noticed an increase in engagement. On average, we see about 22 colleagues per month reach out for support. And that’s just via our mental health advocates.
It’s the amount of engagement we’ve had. It highlights the level of trust that our colleagues have placed in us and demonstrates that we run a very professional operation that’s focused on safeguarding.
What’s also surprised me is what colleagues will want to put on the table—which is anything and everything. The fact that some people are discussing historic mental health concerns for the very first time in a workplace setting is extremely significant. I think it’s because of my openness about my own mental health condition. People know I’ll understand.
Essentially, we’re acting as a conduit to help those individuals seek professional help and proper treatment. We help them talk through their feelings as a first step, and it’s over to them to take the next best steps.
We’ve had great engagement so far, but we’re now looking at making it a bit more interactive in terms of directly bringing Charter members together. What we’re trying to do is get a bit more engagement between members and make it a more fluid process.
But overall, I love the way it’s looking now, and it’s totally fit for purpose. Also, having RSSB on board and RSSB’s resources attached to it makes it so much more meaningful. We’re even starting to be contacted by other sectors looking for pointers on setting up their own!
If you haven’t signed it yet, do think about it. It doesn’t cost you anything up-front. And it would help you access a network of like-minded organisations focused on learning and sharing.
It’s our frontline colleagues. They’re the face of our railway. They kept the country moving during the pandemic despite their fear of taking the virus home at the end of their shift.
To this day, they’re the ones who interact with the general public and who probably feel most of the brunt of what happens behind the scenes. But they come to work every day with a smile of their face. And they do a fantastic job.
To learn more about the RMHC, and to sign up today, head to our dedicated webpage.
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