Orchard Healthcare Group Unveils New Mental Health Initiative for Colleagues
Orchard Healthcare Group has announced the launch of a new Mental Health First Responder initiative as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2026, reinforcing its commitment to colleague wellbeing and creating a healthy, supportive workplace culture across its group.
Launching during Mental Health Awareness Week beginning 11 May, this year’s theme, ‘Take Action,’ closely reflects the organisation’s commitment to creating visible, practical support systems that empower colleagues to support one another in meaningful and sustainable ways.
The Mental Health First Responder project has been developed internally to bridge the gap between mental health awareness and practical action in the workplace. The initiative combines structured responder training with wider organisational wellbeing strategies aimed at embedding support into everyday working life.
The programme will establish a network of trained colleagues across Orchard’s services who can offer supportive, early conversations when someone may be struggling, while also helping guide colleagues towards appropriate support pathways where needed.
The role is not designed to replace professional mental health services or create clinical responsibility. Instead, it equips colleagues with the confidence, communication skills, and professional boundaries needed to respond appropriately and compassionately within the realities of care environments.
Alongside the responder training, Orchard is introducing a broader package of wellbeing initiatives across the group, including:
• Wellbeing check-ins
• Peer support and buddy systems
• Structured support following difficult incidents or bereavements
• Promotion of protected break culture
• More visible and consistent wellbeing practices within teams
The training itself will be delivered through a structured, modular programme over several weeks and focuses on practical, real-world skills such as active listening, responding to disclosures, maintaining boundaries, and signposting colleagues towards additional support.
Speaking about the initiative, Amelia Greenwood, Head of Specialist Services at Orchard Healthcare Group, said: ‘This project came from recognising a gap between awareness and action. We talk a lot about mental health, but colleagues do not always feel confident in what to actually do in the moment when someone is struggling.’
‘The Mental Health First Responder initiative is about creating a safe, approachable, and practical framework for support. It is not simply a training programme, it is part of a wider cultural approach that makes wellbeing conversations more normal, visible, and accessible across our services.’
‘We know that supporting mental health in care settings cannot sit with one individual alone. That is why this initiative combines training with wider organisational action, ensuring responders themselves are properly supported while creating environments where colleagues feel psychologically safe to speak openly and seek support early.’
