On 25th March 2021, PSS invited a panel of ports representatives and mental health experts to participate in a roundtable discussion on how to improve mental health in the workplace. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event was held online however the nearly two-hour long event was extremely well received and provides a useful tool to anyone in the sector looking to improve their mental health initiatives. For those who were unable to attend, you can review the discussion below.
Moderator – Richard Steele, Chief Executive, PSS
Richard is a safety and skills professional with a Masters in Training and Development who has been involved in the ports industry for 18 years. Prior to ports, Richard worked in the nuclear industry on safety and skills provision. Richard was the Learning and Development manager for Associated British Ports for 10 years and has led Port Skills and Safety for 11 years.
Wendy Freeman, Occupational Health Manager, Peel Ports
Wendy has been in post as the Group Occupational Health Manager for Peel Ports since 2018. Having qualified as a Registered General Nurse in 1985, her career path led to Occupational Health roles in various industries including aerospace, car manufacturing, logistics and the food industry to name a few. In between these, Wendy studied for post-graduate degrees in business management and additional Health & Safety qualifications.
Claudia Trotter, Support Manager, Mates in Mind
Claudia acts as a main point of contact for Mates in Mind supporters offering advice and guidance on developing their own mental health programmes from: assessing needs and planning next steps, ensuring supporter objectives are met, organising learning and development, optimising support structures and helping measure relevant organisational improvement.
Cathryn Spain, Senior Harbour Master, Port of London Authority
Cathryn is Senior Harbour Master with the Port of London Authority and is part of the PLA’s Senior Management Team, responsible for the management of navigational safety on the tidal Thames. She previously spent 18 years at sea, on a variety of vessels including containerships and fast ferries.
Stuart Pollard, Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Port of London Authority
Stuart is a passionate health, safety and wellbeing professional, with a wealth of knowledge and experience from a number of sectors. His approach is to challenge the norm to make things engaging, dynamic and memorable; so that people talk about health, safety and wellbeing in a way that encourages learning, improves behaviour and opens up possibilities.
Peter Kelly, Senior Psychologist, Health and Safety Executive
Peter has been part of the small team of psychologists involved from the beginning in developing the scientific knowledge base for the management standards approach to tackling work related stress in Great Britain, and is a co–author on a number of papers published on the management standards, health and wellbeing.