Publish date: 6 May 2026
Supporting you to live well, work well
As we strive to provide outstanding care for our patients and service users, we must also prioritise our own health and wellbeing.
Our sickness absence rates are high, so we are focusing on earlier support, understanding the underlying causes, and strengthening how we help you stay well at work and access help sooner.
We will continue to listen to your experiences and recognise that ill health and personal circumstances are sometimes unavoidable. We want you to feel supported when you need time away from work to recover. We also want to understand what we can do together to make Mersey Care a better place to work by spotting pressures earlier and improving attendance and support.
Our actions include:
- Prioritising health and wellbeing: We encourage everyone to take proactive steps to prioritise their health and wellbeing, recognising that this can look very different for each of us. This includes taking time for ourselves, keeping active where possible, a balanced diet, taking breaks, and adequate rest. Our health is the most important thing we have and looking after ourselves (and each other) really matters.
- Flexible working arrangements: We understand that sometimes, balancing work and personal health can be challenging. To support you, we are reviewing our flexible working policies to make sure they meet your needs. Guidance on flexible working can be found on YourSpace and our policy on reasonable adjustments: Supporting staff with mental or physical disabilities (HR27)
- Enhancing our Occupational Health and Wellbeing Services: We will provide you with better access to therapies, counselling, fast track musculoskeletal service and vaccinations.
- An updated absence management policy: We’ve worked with trade unions and our staff networks to update our Supporting Health and Wellbeing and Attendance policy (HR07). We’ll provide training to support consistent application and explore different ways of working to support your return to work.
- Building upon our Restorative Just and Learning Culture: We remain committed to fostering an inclusive workplace culture, where each one of us is supported, respected and treated with kindness.
Let's work together to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable seeking help when needed. Together we can improve our health and wellbeing, ensuring that we continue to thrive both personally and professionally.
