Since the announcement, the Samaritans has confirmed it will be officially supporting the campaign, which this year, runs between 7th and 13th October.
Paul McDonald, Executive Director of External Affairs at Samaritans, said: “We are pleased that the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors is raising awareness of Samaritans service and supporting our Real People, Real Stories campaign during Quality Plumber Week. Plumbing and heating contractors often work on their own and don’t always have the same level of interaction that other people might have in the workplace, so it’s important to raise awareness of the support available and encourage people to seek help.”
The Samaritans’ Real People, Real Stories campaign shares real stories from men who have overcome tough times to encourage men, who are most at risk of suicide, to seek help by contacting Samaritans 24/7 free on 116 123 or samaritans.org.
During Quality Plumber Week, APHC will be using social media to raise awareness of what the signs of poor mental health are and to sign-post plumbers to where they can obtain advice and information. APHC will be using the hashtag #QPW19 on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Speaking about this year’s theme, John Thompson, APHC CEO, said: “The mental health of plumbing and heating contractors is an important matter as one in six UK workers struggle with mental health problems which equates to around 350,000 construction workers, and suicide is the leading cause of death among males aged 15 to 49.
“With the plumbing and heating industry having a predominantly male population, poor mental wellbeing can have a significant impact within our trade. What’s more, the plumbing and heating industry is predominately made up of sole traders for whom the challenges around mental wellbeing can be more significant as they face a wealth of pressure throughout the working day, which for many, continues into the evening as this is the only time they have to deal with the administration aspect of running a company.”
APHC would like installers and manufacturers to get involved with Quality Plumber Week by joining the conversation at #QPW19 on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and by using the QPW19 logo as their social media profile image, which can be downloaded from www.QualityPlumberWeek.co.uk.
Altecnic, Bristan, Heatrae Sadia and Ideal Standard have confirmed their involvement and will be running their own initiatives during the week.
