When the staff at the Richmond Fellowship Scotland in Dumfries spend their working lives caring for others, the need to look after their own well-being could easily be overlooked.

Yet the charity, which provides high quality community-based services for people who require support in their lives, has not only recognised the need to look after staff health, but has also done a lot about it.

The Richmond Fellowship initially signed up for the former Scotland’s Health at Work (SHAW) scheme, achieving the Bronze Award in 2006. The charity then transferred to the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme in 2007 and were presented with the Silver Award in January 2008. With only 15 staff, some of whom are working part-time, it was a significant achievement.

William Johnston, the charity’s service manager, says that with the support from their Healthy Working Lives adviser, Richard Smith, the switch between the two programmes was not a problem, even for a small organisation.

“We originally achieved the Bronze Award in December 2006 and we then converted that in early 2007 to the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme,” he says. “We could use quite a lot of the existing evidence but there were some additional criteria to meet. It was all relatively easy to follow.”

However, one of the challenges that the charity faced was in working out how to meet the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme criteria in line with the policies of their parent organisation, William adds.

“When you are part of a larger organisation, it is about how you work locally,” he says. “We had to work with our own policies and procedures, and our local needs.

“For example, we introduced a healthy eating statement of intent just for our service – it’s not something we have as a national policy.”

But William adds that it was well worth making some effort to find ways to introduce the Healthy Working Lives advice, such as that given about healthy eating into the workplace.

“I think it has probably improved staff awareness and understanding of healthy eating,” he says.

While the Silver Award has recognised the Richmond Fellowship’s efforts to encourage healthier eating through a law-fat, low-salt and caffeine-free diet, the charity has introduced many other measures.

A refurbishment of their offices has improved the physical working environment for staff, helping to raise morale, and efforts to improve recycling have benefited the charity Cash for Kids.

All in all, the Award Programme has given staff a focus towards improving health and well-being, and William says he would recommend signing up to other employers. “It’s beneficial, definitely,” he says.

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