From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, October 12, 2007

Days lost through stress related sickness are being avoided, saving thousands of pounds each year at Devon County Council, through an effective, national award winning stress management programme.

In recognition of its work to combat stress among social workers and carers of adults, the Council has won the prestigious title of Best Health and Safety Achievements in Local Authorities, in the Chartered Institution of Occupational Safety and Health's SHP Awards.

The Council has also previously been commended by the Government's Health and Safety Executive for their stress management programme, and held up as an example of good practice to other organisations.

In 2004/05, 12.8 million work days were lost through stress, depression and anxiety-related sickness in the UK.  According to the Confederation of British Industry, the sickness costs the economy a staggering £5 billion each year.

Tackling stress can have a positive effect on employee commitment to work which has huge benefits to productivity and performance, which in turn is reflected in organisations' higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Greg Phillips, Devon County Council's Stress Management Facilitator, has trained approximately 600 Adult and Community Services staff in the last 18 months to make them aware of stress - what its causes are, how to spot it, cope with and deal with it. 

One-to-one support for people affected by stress is available with tailored programmes to help them recover quickly from it. 

The Council estimates that by having an effective stress management programme, their Adult and Community Services directorate has saved about £375,000 since February 2006.

Judges described the Council's stress management service as excellent sharing of best practice and experience.

Greg, who picked up the SHP Award for the Council said:

"I'm delighted to accept the award for Devon County Council.  Social care is a physically and emotionally challenging environment in which to work, reflected often by high staff turnover and difficulties in recruiting.

"However in Devon, our support for staff has led to below average sickness rate levels, and having 'happier' staff is far better for the people receiving services from us."

Councillor John Rawlinson, the Council's Executive Member for Adult and Community Services, said:

"It's great to get this national recognition for the hard work that Greg and the team are doing.  Stress within the work place is a problem for many organisations, and social work by nature can be stressful.  Clearly there is a need for organisations to support their staff effectively and correlation with levels of customer satisfaction, and in Devon I'm pleased we're getting that right."

NOTE TO EDITORS

The SHP Awards are organised by the Safety Health Practitioner, which is the official magazine of the Chartered Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

This year is the first year that the SHP has arranged the awards ceremony.  Distinguished judges on the panel comprises of experienced health and safety practitioners and industry experts.