MENTAL HEALTH Cambridge United
I am pleased to say that Cambridge United now have an excellent mental health programme in place and they are going to great lengths to offer help, both within the club and within the community through the charitable division; Cambridge United Community Trust. This uses the power of sport and the brand of Cambridge United to have a positive impact on the local community.
www.cuctrust.co.uk
They also undertake EFL mental health awareness sessions and, are possibly, one of the leading clubs in the country at this present time.
Cambridge Charity Fund Raisers presentation to Tom’s Trust in 2017
instantly paralysed. In my mind the accident had just happened all over again, with terrible clarity.
I was hypersensitive to crashing sounds and noise, the good doctor concluded. My brain recognised these noises as signs of danger and reacted accordingly. As I was going through this treatment, I was made aware that the pitch at United had deteriorated, and I was asked what could be done to improve it. I’d only seen the pitch from a distance during my therapy, but I could identify the problem and was able to call in a few favours to help improve it. Then, following a meeting with club officials, I took a phone call out of the blue, followed up by a letter, informing me that the club had engaged an occupational health nurse who would be in touch to see when I could get back to work. The news caused me so much stress that I couldn’t stop shaking and could hardly speak. Why now, I wondered, after all this time? And why at a time when I was starting to recover? I had to wait for a week or so for the phone call, but the nurse was kind and understanding. She explained that the call
would take around thirty minutes and that she’d been asked to assess when I would be back to work following my hip surgery. I stopped her there. ‘Are you telling me,’ I asked, ‘that the club think I’m off work just because of my hip?’ Her affirmative reply staggered me and I almost dropped the phone.
I spent well over an hour recounting yet again what had happened: I’d been through seven medical procedures; I was still fighting an infection; I was still undergoing post-operative physio; I was undergoing treatment for depression and PTSD. Despite all that, I’d been working from home and had processed more than 1,200 emails whilst away from the stadium, whilst the club had received sick notes containing all the necessary information. I finished by explaining that I’d asked the doctors several times when I could return to work and had been told that I was nowhere near fit enough.
‘Right,’ said the nurse, ‘you’ve told me quite enough. I’m stopping any further work from home whilst you’re receiving treatment for PTSD.’
She called a few more times, saying my doctors at CPFT had provided her with documentation of my therapy and had confirmed that they were very disappointed by the letters I’d received from a manager at the club. Considering my condition, they were unhelpful.
My treatments continued and I continued to improve. Finally, it was agreed that I could get back to work on a phased return basis. I believe that I am now a far better person who is far more considerate and understanding and would ask that if anything comes out of this article it is this ... If you have a family member or member of staff who appears not to be working to their normal ability, don’t think they are being lazy or on a different planet - ask them if they are alright and then ask them ‘again are you really alright’? It is so easy to dismiss the first enquiry when someone asks - believe me, I did it several times when friends asked how I was doing. Since my challenge with life, I have helped two people who were struggling in silence with depression and pointed them in the right direction - one of whom said that I saved his life.
Back on the straight and narrow marking out
Remember, you are not alone, with one in four suffering from some form of mental health issue, but you need to let somebody know how you are feeling.
DON’T SUFFER IN SILENCE! 58
PC December/January 2020
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