Phil Gillam: The way we treat others is important

It’s rare indeed that I focus upon what you might call “heavy subjects” - but this week is a little different.

So hold on to your hats.

You see, it’s like this:

Two very different and seemingly unconnected stories have caught my eye over the last few days: one about child mental health right here in Shropshire, the other about assaults on the staff of Virgin Trains, the company of course that operates express services through Shrewsbury, Wellington and Telford.

But are these stories really “unconnected". I don’t think so.

They’re both essentially about how we treat one another as human beings; they’re both about emotional health and wellbeing, respect, compassion.

The one centres on the effectiveness and quality of local services operating in an especially sensitive line of work, the other is about just how badly railway workers can be treated by some disgruntled passengers and travellers with - shall we say - violent tendencies.

As I say, they’re both, when you break it all down, stories about how we treat our fellow human beings.

Is society doing enough to take care of children with mental health issues?

Meanwhile, does society do enough to engender respect and understanding for groups of workers going about their day-to-day jobs and doing their best to serve others?

First off, let’s take a look at an appeal from Healthwatch Shropshire, looking for feedback from those who have experienced local services in the field of child mental health.

Healthwatch Shropshire is the independent consumer champion for health and social care in our county. It points out that the BBC Television programme Panorama has reported that “Britain is in the grip of a child mental health crisis and getting help is a postcode lottery”.

Headlines like this are disturbing enough, but the human stories behind the headlines are often far more upsetting.

Healthwatch Shropshire would now like to know about the experiences of Shropshire children, parents, carers and the professionals who support them.

The organisation asks: "Are our children getting the help they need when they need it? If you have used the services, what do you think? Are there gaps in provision?"

Experiences

These are the big questions Healthwatch Shropshire is asking as part of its Hot Topic looking at the recently launched 0–25 Emotional Health and Wellbeing Service in Shropshire.

Rachael Allen, Healthwatch Shropshire Chief Officer, explained: “We hear a lot in the national press about the mental health problems facing children in today’s society and the services children can access. We really want to hear about the experiences people have of local services.

"We gather these experiences and feed them back anonymously to those organisations who provide and pay for the services. In this way user experience can help shape the development of services so that they truly meet the needs of the young people in Shropshire.”

Healthwatch Shropshire can be contacted on 01743 237884, at enquiries@healthwatchshropshire.co.uk or online at healthwatchshropshire.co.uk

Meanwhile, the mental health and indeed physical health of railway employees is sometimes tested to the limit when they suffer abuse and assaults from the travelling public.

It’s heartening to learn that assaults on Virgin Trains staff have fallen by more than half since they have been issued with body cameras.

But surely these assaults simply shouldn’t be happening in the first place.

The company completed the issue of bodycams to 275 staff in March this year. Since then, the number of assaults on staff has fallen from 20 in March to just six in September.

Virgin Trains, which holds the West Coast mainline franchise, is the first rail company to issue all its frontline staff with body cameras. Cambridge University carried out an industry-wide survey which revealed that assaults fell by 47 per cent when staff were issued with cameras.

Good news, yes - but, honestly, what a world we live in!