Paul Ogden, The Westgrove Group’s site based Mental Health First-Aider, has won an industry award. Paul, who is a mental health champion at Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton, has won a Revo ACE Award. He’s pictured presented with his award at an event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.
Also shortlisted for an award was Handforth Dean Retail Park and St Johns Shopping Centre in Liverpool, both served by Warrington-based Westgrove.
Facilities management company The Westgrove Group, an ACS Pacesetters company, has been working with Market Place, to champion awareness of mental health. As part of the service to shoppers the centre was keen to ensure that they identified a mental health first aider, something which is being called for by many companies in the UK to be mandatory as part of the ‘Time to Change’ campaign. After a mental health awareness week in 2018, Changing Minds, the centre and Westgrove worked together to train over 80 staff in mental health awareness. Paul Ogden, as one of the centre’s Guest Service Ambassadors, took on the role as mental health champion.
He’s now available to offer support and advice to vulnerable customers visiting the centre as well as to the centre’s tenants. Paul completed a mental health first aid course through St John Ambulance, the first aid charity, and a NCFE CACHE Level 2 certificate qualification in Mental Health Awareness.
Claire McKinley Smith, Managing Director of The Westgrove Group, said: “As a company, we take mental health extremely seriously so we are delighted that Paul has been recognised for all of his hard work to champion mental health in the workplace. We are so proud of him.
“He is equipped with all the skills required to help someone, be it a colleague or a member of the public suffering mental distress, which is all too common an occurrence today. Since starting in the new role, Paul has rolled out his training to the Westgrove team onsite and to the tenants within the centre. He has already identified a number of vulnerable customers and offered them advice and support. We will be looking to appoint mental health first aiders at many more centres across our UK portfolio during 2019.”
