Prince Harry is visiting the London Ambulance Service today (Thursday 2 February 2017) as part of the health service’s wellbeing event recognising mental health awareness day, Time to Talk.
During the visit, Prince Harry will learn about the London Ambulance Service’s Listening, informal, non-judgemental, confidential (LINC) network. This is a voluntary peer-support network, which is designed to encourage employees to talk to each other about issues they may be facing.
Prince Harry will also meet call handlers and ambulance crews, encourage staff to talk about their mental health, and find out more about the other mental health support measures in place for emergency service workers.
Time to Talk Day is an annual mental health awareness day that focuses on encouraging people to talk and listen to conversations about mental health. It is organised by the Time to Change campaign, run by mental health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, which aims to change the way people think and act about mental health problems.
Prince Harry’s visit also forms part of the Heads Together campaign, which looks to tackle the stigma around mental health and ensure people feel comfortable with their everyday mental wellbeing.
Jules Lockett, practice learning manager at the London Ambulance Service, said: “We take the mental wellbeing of our workforce very seriously. Our staff deal with trauma every day and can work in often difficult circumstances. That’s why we’re here today, to show them the support that we can offer.
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“Alongside this, we’ll have our LINC network of trained staff who volunteer their time to offer peer support to their colleagues.”