Mental Health Awareness Week at APC Cardiovascular, 2019
Health care professionals (HCPs) who wear lead aprons for protection in radiology departments and interventional laboratories such as cardiac catheterisation labs face a higher risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) pain1. Nearly half of all workers in the healthcare setting are affected by low back pain2. Research suggests that anywhere from 30 to 50% of people with chronic pain also struggle with depression or anxiety3.
Protection from the MSK strain on HCPs whilst wearing x-ray protection aprons is something we at APC Cardiovascular take seriously. We also want to ensure that protection from the harmful effects of x-ray radiation is not compromised and keep doses as low as reasonable achievable (ALARA) by supporting our customers with the best support in dose measurement, management and education. By supporting HCPs in managing both the MSK strain and radiation doses we hope that APC Cardiovascular has a positive contribution to physical and mental wellbeing of our customers.
Wide ranging, universal, research into the effects on both body and mind of regular physical activity, allied to general improvements in the long-term health of a population, has long been a subject of great interest to APC Cardiovascular. It now appears to be an undeniable truth that regular physical exercise is a major contributor, not only to improved strengthening of the cardiovascular system, but to a sense of improved mental wellbeing in the individual. As providers of non-invasive monitoring systems to the medical profession, we seek to widen our relationships by providing support to hospital and university-based research programmes aimed at broadening knowledge and understanding of the link between physical exercise and physical and mental wellbeing.
The awareness of mental health at APC Cardiovascular in relation to our customers is not the full story. We do, of course, have a legal and moral duty to the wellbeing of the APC Cardiovascular team. Our awareness is heightened during Mental Health Awareness Week, 2019.
Our team is made up of those out on the road, caring for existing customer relationships and seeking new opportunities, and those who are office based supporting the sales team, and forging and fostering new business ventures. Both environments are pressurised in a mentally challenging sense.
As part of our employee welfare strategy, we have developed and applied the principles of openness and honesty, where the discussion of an employee’s problems, concerns, worries, is actively encouraged, without prejudice in any respect. In addition to these principles forming a key part of the line manager/employee day-to-day relationship, we provide all staff with private healthcare, part of which is access to professional counselling services. We shun complacency, and are continually assessing our performance in this vital area, and seeking to improve wherever weakness in our approach is found.
We hope you find our approach to these issues of interest. If you, as someone not employed by APC Cardiovascular, feel the need to talk about personal concerns that are impacting negatively on your life, and feel that pathways to open discussion are blocked, we strongly recommend making contact with the wonderful mental health charity: MIND. The web site is here:
https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week-2019/
Other sites of interest on the subject of mental health:
https://www.iod.com/news-campaigns/mental-health/
References:
- https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/11953-lead-aprons-can-lead-to-pain-for-health-care-workers-study
- https://oem.bmj.com/content/75/Suppl_2/A329.2
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0304395986900746
