Raising awareness of healthy mental wellbeing has been an important focus of Linzie Newport’s career – spanning more than 30 years. She is our Mental Health First Aider and has written our Awareness of First Aid for Mental Health course.

As a police officer for the Greater Manchester Police Linzie was in a role which was mentally challenging for herself and her colleagues.

Linzie has vast experience in all aspects of policing as a constable and sergeant and for the last 6 years of her service she was posted in the serious crime division. Within this division she worked closely with Manchester coroners, on cases involving unexplained and sudden deaths, this included cot death and suicide. These cases had a significant impact on all involved, the families, the medical staff and the officers. With these experiences, Linzie understands the importance of mental health and how it can affect someone’s everyday life. She knows how to spot the signs and indicators and how to direct people to the help and support they need.

Two years into her career as a police officer, she became a tutor constable and a law trainer, which meant she trained police officers in all aspects of policing. She realised that there was a culture within the police to avoid the subject of mental health and that officers should just be able to deal with the challenging situations they face because it’s ‘their job’. Linzie believed that for police to be effective in their roles, as well as be mentally healthy this had to change and has spent most of her career ensuring people understand the importance of mental health inside and outside the police.

After retiring from the police, Linzie now runs her own training company called New Port Training Limited. Using all her experience she has put together our course to give practitioners in care and early years a taster of cognitive awareness of mental health.

As part of her work, Linzie is striving to ensure every office in the UK has an appointed wellbeing champion for mental health. The wellbeing champion would be the ‘go to’ person who could take early intervention steps to signpost people who may be experiencing anxiety, stress or depression to the right help. By raising awareness and prioritising mental wellbeing, a culture of openness can be nurtured and the stigma surrounding mental illness can be eradicated. Ultimately, healthy staff will bring about healthy business.