WELL CARE presented during a Policy Event on Mental Health

On 18th February, our partnership was honoured to present WELL CARE at a policy event on mental health, organised by the Directorate-General for Research within the European Commission. This hybrid seminar aimed to bridge the gap between ongoing research projects and policymakers at both EU and national levels. Approximately 40 participants attended the event.

Claire Champeix introduced WELL CARE during a session titled Promoting resilience and mental wellbeing of the health and long-term care workforce and informal caregivers. Her presentation highlighted the WELL CARE ‘Guide to investing in care partnerships’ recently published. She was joined by the coordinators of two other projects funded under the same call for proposals: Support4Resilience and Apollo 2028.

Katarzyna Ptak-Bufkens, representing the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), outlined recent policy developments, including the Action Plan to tackle Labour and Skills Shortages, the European Care Strategy, and the Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health. She also highlighted that WHO/Europe has launched a survey, funded by the European Commission under the project Addressing mental health challenges in the European Union countries, Iceland and Norway. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights into the key areas that practitioners and policymakers should prioritise to improve healthcare settings for both current and future staff.

The discussion underscored the crucial role of organisational and societal contexts in shaping the mental health and resilience of caregivers. It was widely acknowledged that a multidimensional approach is essential. Key opportunities and pressing challenges – including the lack of resources – in these areas were explored, with consensus on the importance of maintaining and strengthening the policy momentum on care, ensuring the engagement of all relevant stakeholders.