Following Seafarers Awareness Week (6-12 July), the Maritime Charities Group and Merchant Navy Training Board joined forces and issued a practice guide focused on seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing.
In light of the growing mental health crisis amongst seafarers, the guidelines are intended to address ongoing concerns with the varying quality of mental health awareness training.
Mental health awareness training is needed now more than ever and there are many reputable providers offering really good training courses. But the majority of those courses are generic and really don’t address the specific issues facing seafarers. That’s why we’ve developed the Standard, setting out clearly what a good training course should cover.
…Author of the guide, Master Mariner and academic, Dr Chris Haughton noted.
What is more, the guide training goals to develop a keen awareness and appreciation of mental health and wellbeing of all types of seafarers, as well as those with an interest in seafaring. It includes course content, delivery and the qualification requirements of course facilitators.
One in four people will develop a mental health problem during their lifetime, but the incidence amongst seafarers is much higher. The Covid-19 crisis has made the situation for seafarers even worse so now is exactly the right time to publish this guide.
…Commander Graham Hockley LVO RN and Chair of the MCG, said.
Concluding, MCG member the Seafarers Hospital Society played a major role for the iniative.
In fact, they were concerned about the proliferation of mental health awareness training courses of varying quality that did not address the specific issues faced by seafarers due to the nature of their work. The Society approached the MCG for help in bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to agree a way forward and the Standard was the result.