What we've been up to
National suicide action plan for policing
We have just published the new national suicide action plan which is endorsed by NPCC, Police Federation, Police Superintendents Association and Unison.
This national action plan is about recognising that suicide in policing is an issue that deserves attention, and that more needs to be done to support police forces in reducing suicides. It aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording.
In addition, it is intended to help create a culture that supports mental health, tackles stigma and ensures that everyone affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts is able to access appropriate and timely support.
Read more and download the plan
Response policing week of action
During response week of action forces made great use all of our wellbeing vans and cars (see outreach service update below). We also joined the College of Policing to do three online inputs during the week:
- Wearable tech to improve sleep, fatigue and recovery, with Andy Rhodes
- Wellbeing, resilience and self-care, with Lee Taylor
- Operation Hampshire, the response to police assaults starts with us, with Dave Brewster
If you missed the inputs and want to catch up, all of the response week sessions have been recorded and added to the response policing group on Knowledge Hub, a platform for UK policing to help you share information, discuss ideas and collaborate. You will need to register with your police.uk email address to access.
National Police Chaplaincy conference
It was an absolute pleasure to meet so many caring, compassionate and supportive people yesterday.
I gave a presentation to the group on the work of Oscar Kilo and more specifically Operation Hampshire. This was followed later in the afternoon by two 45 min workshops on 'influence' and 'the importance of 10 minutes' to show how meaningful and supportive first contact after an assault can make or break the victims experience.
International recognition
Our SRO, Dr Ian Hesketh was invited by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to speak about the criticality of Police Personnel Wellbeing at the 2024 South America World Regional Conference in Brazil. Our National Police Wellbeing Service is becoming more widely recognised globally as best practice. Ian has recently published a paper on the Economic Evaluation Wellbeing Support Programmes in the International Journal of Emergency Services.
Ian said:
“The interest in wellbeing in policing around the world has grown enormously over recent years. The National Police Wellbeing Service is seen as world class and we are very proud of all we do. Why wouldn’t forces invest in their greatest assets? The challenges for policing are complex and numerous and we want to provide the best support possible. We are committed to continuing our evidence based research to underpin all we do.”
Clinical governance and occupational health update
Liz Eades our occupational health lead and John Harrison, Chief Medical Officer for UK policing were invited by the Army to Bulford Regional Rehabilitation Unit, to discuss best practice for the rehabilitation from musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. The meeting brought together the armed forces, emergency services and the NHS. John and Liz, alongside Ian Barron from Flint House, did a presentation about the work being done in policing.
John Harrison also attended Flint House, to participate in a planning meeting for Men’s Health 2025. This Police Federation initiative which we will be supporting, will see a calendar of events taking place throughout next year supported by targeted messaging and stakeholder / celebrity endorsements.
Our occupational health practitioner group got together for their regular online meeting with over 75 people attending representing most UK forces, this is becoming invaluable for our practitioners as a great platform to learn and share best practice. We have also had our first occupational health technicians group meeting, this is an active group with a full agenda and we are continually building up our membership.
Emergency services health and wellbeing conference
Zoe Davenport, our psychological and trauma risk management lead was kindly invited to take part in the Emergency Services Health and Wellbeing Conference at St Georges training hospital on 26 June. Also in attendance were representatives from London Fire Brigade, London Air Ambulance and the Ambulance Service Staff Charity amongst other brilliant guest speakers who got together to discuss their wellbeing initiatives.
Topics discussed covered operational and organisational stressors, and the variety of support and interventions that are available such as the Walk&Talk999 and RePAIR projects. It was a great opportunity to share learning and discuss the common themes experienced by those working across all emergency services.
Oscar Kilo at NPCC event
Our OK9 dog lead Garry Botterill delivered an introduction to OK9 at the NPCC away day held at the Australian High Commission. Wellbeing was one of the themes for the day, so it was a great opportunity to talk about how our OK9 Wellbeing and Trauma Support Dogs have made a huge impact in the workplace.
Garry was joined by Clare Nicholls from Surrey Police who brought the very lovely OK9 dog Emmie. Garry's OK9 dog Poppy and Emmie were fantastic and they helped start some interesting conversations during the breaks demonstrating how the OK9 dogs can lighten the mood and provide some happy endorphins.
Our service director Andy Rhodes was also at the event facilitating a workshop to help develop a response to staff surveys.
Oscar Kilo outreach service update
June has been a busy month with 19 van bookings, this included nine for use during the Response Policing Week of Action. During the week we showcased our new Oscar Kilo branded Ford Focus estate cars, this is a great resource for those forces that struggle to visit smaller stations or for those unable to get a C1 driver for the vans. We received some great feedback from Surrey Police after they borrowed one of the cars:
Having the car was a great experience. We were able to use the table and chairs provided all week with different events that were hosted in Surrey. The car was used to attend a major incident to ensure that officers had suitable refreshments in the hot weather. The officers liked seeing the car I would thoroughly recommend the car being used. Thank you so much.
Forces using the vans this month have included Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Northampton, Surrey, North and South Yorkshire, GMP and Cambridgeshire, with the vans being used for various uses including welfare support, health checks and supporting large scale events such as the Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Appleby Horse Fair.
We sent one of our wellbeing vans to the City of London Police in June to be used at their family fun day. The event was a huge success, we talked to officers and staff about what Oscar Kilo can do for them and directed family members to our families hub.
The vans have now been used by all 43 Home Office forces and continue to be in demand - find out more about the outreach service
Peer support update
We have now trained over 2500 individuals in Peer Support nationally, with just as many being supported.
If you have anyone else who wishes to get trained we are still running courses, you can find details on our 'Events and Training' page. We are currently running both initial and refresher courses. If you have any peer supporters who were trained over a year ago, please suggest attending a refresher course.
We have started to deliver more courses for members of the Police Superintendents Association (PSA) and will soon start delivering courses for members of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC).
Dates of all our 2024 courses and full details on how to book can be found on our 'events and training' page
Looking forward
- We are going to be introducing Peer Support Champion training. This will be offered on the Oscar Kilo website as an online module for Champions to enhance their existing skills and knowledge around peer support. If you are interested in this course please get in touch.
- We are considering offering two half day training days instead of a full day training for people are struggling getting a whole day off their duties. If you have would like to take up this offer please contact us.
We are getting great feedback from forces with what their peer supporters are doing and how they are supporting their colleagues. If you have any good news stories please let us know so we can publish them. Many people are being supported for a variety of issues, incident support, morale, team building, request from peer, financial issues, bereavement,
Oscar Kilo awards - get your entries in!
There's still enough time to get your entries in for the 2024 Oscar Kilo awards as we close for submissions on 2 August. If your force has created a project or programme that is making a difference to the wellbeing of your officers and staff, then why not enter it for one of our awards. The categories are listed below:
- Creating the Environment
- Leadership
- Absence Management
- Mental Health
- Personal Resilience
- Protecting the Workforce
- Occupational Health
This year we have also added two new categories:
- OK9 Wellbeing and Trauma Support Dog
- Police Covenant
2024 will also see a one-off award:
- Innovative Approaches to Improving Deployability
Each year we also present a ‘Special Non Police Award’, for other organisations such as a UK fire and rescue services, who are working towards completing the BLWF. This can be from any of the categories above.
How to enter
You can enter the Oscar Kilo Awards by downloading the application form. Before entering please read the guidance which provides full details of the categories and entry criteria.
Closing date for submissions will be Friday 2 August 2024
If you submit an award entry, you will be invited to join us for our conference and awards ceremony in December - see below.
Industry recognition for our 'Meaning' film
'Meaning' won two gold awards at the EVCOM CLARION film awards earlier this month. The first gold was in the health and wellbeing category and the other in education and training.
Here are some of the judges comments:
“This was an incredibly powerful film. It felt genuine. I had to watch it twice it was so good.”
“Very powerful and hard-hitting, beautifully acted and successful in getting the message across.”
Film creative director Chris Godwin said:
"This is a great achievement, I feel very proud to have worked with National Police Wellbeing Service on these incredibly important films. I would like to thank the NPWS team and all the officers and staff who have contributed, for their insight, support and vision in producing these films.
‘Meaning’ is the second in a series of films developed by Oscar Kilo the National Police Wellbeing Service and follows on from 'Purpose', our third film in the series will be released later this year.
These films are intended to act as a platform to encourage officers and staff to not only be more self-aware, but to also encourage thinking and discussion around how systems and processes could work better, and provide an opportunity for signposting and support.
You can watch the trailers and find our how to access the full resource for your force using the links below.
Go to 'Purpose' Go to 'Meaning'
What's coming soon
Events
Over the next few months we will be at the following events, if you are attending, please come and say hello.
- Police Resettlement Expo - 24 July, Manchester.
- Police Superintendents Conference - September
- Emergency Services Show - 18-19 September, Birmingham
Oscar Kilo conference and awards ceremony
Our 2024 Oscar Kilo Conference and awards ceremony has been planned for 2-4 December at Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa, Crewe, Cheshire.
This year we will be combining the conference with announcement of our Oscar Kilo awards at a gala dinner which will be held in the evening of the second day on the 3 December 2024.
Invitations have gone out to all our member groups to register for the conference. If you have not received an invite and think you should be on the list please get in touch.
Wellfest
Following on from the success of previous events, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary will be holding another Wellfest festival which will take place on the week of 7 October 2024. We will be sharing details on the content and how to register in the coming months.
If you are interested in catching up on the recordings from the last festival check out the link below.