Mental Health and Other Vulnerabilities

This course is suitable for anyone who is customer facing, whether that be in person or on the phone.

With over 1 in 4 adults in the UK experiencing a mental health problem, it is likely that you will be required to make a reasonable adjustment to the way you communicate with a customer, at some point.

According to the charity MIND, in any given week in England:

• Mixed anxiety and depression: 8 in 100 people.
• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD): 6 in 100 people.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): 4 in 100 people.
• Depression: 3 in 100 people.
• Phobias: 2 in 100 people.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): 1 in 100 people.
• Panic disorder: fewer than 1 in 100 people.

Mental health problems are increasing:

• The amount of people with common mental health problems went up by 20% between 1993 to 2014, in both men and women.
• The percentage of people reporting severe mental health symptoms in any given week rose from 7% in 1993, to over 9% in 2014.
• The number of young women reporting common mental health problems has been going up.

We also need to consider vulnerabilities such as dementia. Dementia is one of the leading causes of death in the UK.

Globally the numbers of people living with dementia will increase from 50 million in 2018 to 152 million in 2050, a 204% increase. A person’s risk of developing dementia rises from 1 in 14, over the age of 65, to 1 in 6 over the age of 80.

Autism is much more common than many people think. There are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK – that’s more than 1 in 100. If you include their families, autism is a part of daily life for 2.8 million people.

We will explore how we can support the millions of vulnerable people that access your service. Those with a disability or vulnerability, have the right to access your service in a way that is suitable for them – that’s what the equality act says. You need to make reasonable adjustments and we can show you how.

This course has been developed by a safeguarding expert and former police officer who led the high risk panel, supporting the most vulnerable adults in our communities.

Your understanding of the course is tested though multiple-choice questions and you will receive a CPD accredited certificate, on the successful completion of the course.