Running head: POLICY AND PROCEDURE ON MENTAL HEALTH 1

Policy and Procedure on Mental Health

Jisha John

Mental Health & Addictions – BHSW 3001

Professor Sonali Sagare

Humber College

November 25, 2020

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Policy and Procedure on Mental Health

Part A

According to The Centre for Addiction and Mental health “1 in 5 Canadian experience mental

illness or addiction problems” [ CITATION CAM20 \l 4105 ]. Workplace health and wellness

programs are one of the plans offered to support employees to deal with mental illness and

addiction problems. I currently work at William Osler Health System as a Registered Practical

Nurse (RPN). At William Osler, we have a healthy workplace and occupational health & safety

team that work hand in hand to help employee needs. The occupational health and safety team

support, guide, and consult according to the legislative practices to promote safety (WOHS, n.d).

A healthy workplace consists of physical, lifestyle, psychological and social that emphasize

resources and promotions for employee and environmental care (WOHS, n.d). The policies and

procedures at William Osler on mental health include, but not limited to:

 Cannabis and Tobacco: Smoke and Vaping Free Environment

 Appropriate use of the internet at Osler (prohibition of gambling sites)

 Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Policy and Procedure

 Principles of behavior (Code of Conduct and anti-violence, harassment and anti-

discrimination)

 Health and Safety Annual Policy

 Recruitment policy (accommodation)

As per my scheduler (human resources), many policies and procedures adhere to the

Employment Standards Act and Human Rights of Ontario. All of the policies mentioned are

linked to promoting mental health and addiction practices within my workplace.

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Part B:

Currently, William Osler Health System offers many resources to foster good mental health and

reduce the risk of mental issues. These resources include the Employees and Family Assistance

Program (EFAP), COVID-19 support by Morneau Sheppell, LifeSpeak, staff respite room,

BounceBack Ontario, resources provided by Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and

Safety (CCOHS), World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), and CAMH (WOHS, n.d). Although these practices and procedures are to

reduce mental health issues; many employees are unaware of the programs offered. Therefore,

my recommendation for the William Osler Health System is to promote mental health programs

that already exist for the employees. Adequate promotion of the existing mental health program

can enhance employee mental health. Lastly, workers can utilize the current programs to assess

and evaluate their mental health and seek help immediately. Thus, increase the productivity at

work.

Part C:

According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada toolkit checklist, the strategies that exist

at William Osler Health System include:

 Policy on accommodation that is in recruitment policy

 A bullying, harassment policy is in place along with a code of conduct

 We have a team for occupational health and safety and workplace health that

monitor, assess and track mental health programs

 Employees have access to report incidents

 Our facility offers multiple programs to deal with mental health such as

LifeSpeak, staff respite room, Employees and Family Assistance Program

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(EFAP), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), COVID-19 support by Morneau

Shepell and BounceBack Ontario by Canadian Mental Health Association

(CMHA) (CMHA & MHCC, n.d).

I believe that William Osler has many of the Mental Health Commission of Canada strategies to

promote psychological health and safety. However, after assessing the William Osler website on

policies and procedures on mental health I was unable to find a training program on mental

health after the initial recruitment. As mentioned earlier mental health affects 1 in 5 Canadians,

therefore, providing consistent training and promotion can provide employees to deal with

mental health and reduce stigmatization at the workplace. Therefore, it is important to start with

consistent training and promotion on mental health education and training.

Part D:

A policy that I would recommend considering the recommendation from above will be:

 Mandatory retrain and education on mental health promotion and destigmatizing.

The proposed policy will improve the knowledge of mental health and it will promote goodwill

among mental health at the workplace. Moreover, the policy is an essential tool to evaluate the

employee's needs relating to mental health. Furthermore, efficient training in mental health

strategies benefits employees to enhance their wellbeing. Additionally, through effective

communication and collaboration, mental health will no longer be stigmatized within William

Osler Health System.

References
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CAMH. (n.d.). The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Retrieved November 24, 2020,

from Mental Illness and Addiction: Facts and Statistics: https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-

change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics

CMHA & MHCC. (n.d). A Checklist: Why Start from Scratch? Retrieved November 25, 2020,

from https://cmha.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/CMHA-MHCC-Toolkit-

Checklist_EN.pdf

WOHS. (n.d). William Osler Health System: Psychological Well-Being. Retrieved November

25, 2020, from https://www.williamoslerhs.ca/