How Southern Water turned Mental Health First Aid into a measurable, preventative system
Lara
Wrote this on, February 27, 2026
Understanding the landscape
Southern Water employs approximately 3,200 people across the South Coast. Around 72 percent of the workforce is male. Two thirds of employees work in frontline operational roles, many on shifts or alone across a wide network of sites. The remaining third are office based.
The organisation has a strong physical safety culture. Risk management is embedded in how decisions are made. Yet when Rachael stepped into the role, wellbeing had not yet been viewed through that same risk lens.
Rachael Lewis joined Southern Water as Health & Wellbeing Manager. At the time, there were around 50 trained Mental Health First Aiders. An Employee Assistance Programme was available. Occupational health provision existed.
But Rachael quickly recognised a familiar gap.
Mental Health First Aiders were engaged but unsupported. Services existed but operated in isolation. Awareness was limited. There was no clear view of what conversations were happening, what themes were emerging or whether the network was reducing risk. Rachael brought both professional and lived experience to the role, including a previous career in commercial leadership and personal experience of burnout. That perspective shaped her approach. If mental health was a risk, it needed to be understood properly.
What followed was a deliberate transformation from a well intentioned network into a measurable, supported and prevention focused system, delivered through a structured partnership with Everymind.
The discovery phase: Listening before leading
Within her first three to four months, Rachael launched a deep discovery phase. Southern Water was not short on data. Absence reports, occupational health insights and safety reporting tools were already in place.
But as Rachael puts it, “You don’t know what you don’t know unless you get out into the business.”
Rather than relying solely on reports, she spent time speaking directly with colleagues across the organisation, particularly those in operational roles who made up the majority of the workforce. Those conversations revealed what reports alone could not. Fatigue linked to shift work. Isolation among lone workers. Work related stress. The cumulative impact of operational pressure.
As qualitative insight and existing data began to align, one conclusion became clear. Mental health was not simply a wellbeing topic. It was a business risk. Within an organisation that already understood physical safety risk deeply, this reframing was significant. Mental health could now be discussed with the same seriousness, structure and accountability as any other operational risk.
The hidden risk within the network
Alongside reviewing workforce risk, Rachael examined the existing Mental Health First Aid network.
Most volunteers had stepped forward because of lived experience and a genuine desire to help colleagues. They were holding difficult, emotionally demanding conversations. Yet there was little structured support around them. Her concern was direct.
We were potentially creating more downstream mental health risk.
Without supervision, structured reflection or visibility of what was happening across the network, the organisation risked placing emotional strain on volunteers without adequate protection.
At the same time, Rachael faced another challenge. She could not confidently answer the question: what impact is our Mental Health First Aid network having?
Without measurement, impact remained anecdotal. That limited both strategic decision making and board level confidence.
Why working with Everymind was necessary
Southern Water required structured support for Mental Health First Aiders, specialist expertise in developing networks and real time visibility of impact.
“What we were really missing was how do we support people properly?” Rachael explains.
Through the Everymind approach, Southern Water gained both the platform and the ongoing strategic support needed to embed and evolve its Mental Health First Aid network. They embedded The Supporter Method.
Designed by Everymind, The Supporter Method is a 5-step proven framework for embedding a safer, proactive and fully measurable network. It was designed to align with workplace Health & Safety guidance and ISO 45003 principles.
Mental Health First Aiders could log conversations securely, generating live insight into themes, trends and coverage. That data did not sit in isolation. It was reviewed collaboratively through their very own Wellbeing Business Consultant, helping Rachael interpret the patterns and decide on next steps.
With Everymind, Southern Water was able to turn insight into action.
Making impact visible
With structured data and ongoing partnership support in place, the network shifted from invisible to visible.
“It’s an eye opener,” Rachael says. “When you start to see it live and visible, you really get to see the impact.”
For the first time, she could clearly demonstrate where colleagues were being supported, what issues were recurring and where gaps existed across operational sites.
When senior leaders asked about outcomes or return on investment, she no longer relied on anecdote. The Everymind Platform provided tangible evidence. She explains,
We started to see trends and patterns in what people are struggling with.
Those insights informed targeted interventions, from additional training to focused communication and resource allocation.
Supporting the Supporters
Equally important was protecting the volunteers themselves.
Through the Everymind partnership, Mental Health First Aiders gained structured, 1:1 support, visibility of their collective impact and confidence that they were not operating alone. “As a Mental Health First Aider myself, I want to know what impact I’m having,” Rachael reflects.
That clarity created what she describes as “a virtuous cycle.” Volunteers understood the difference they were making. Rachael could see how the network was evolving. Leadership had reassurance that the system was working safely. The network became not just active, but sustainable.
Cultural change accelerated through leadership sponsorship. Southern Water’s CEO is strongly people focused, and that alignment at the top table proved critical.
In a significant milestone, all members of the executive team are now trained as Mental Health First Aiders. “Looking back a year ago, I never would’ve thought we’d get to that point.”
Within a predominantly male and operational workforce, that visible commitment matters. Mental health is no longer separate from safety or performance. It is embedded within the organisation’s broader risk and safety framework.
From intervention to prevention
The transformation continues. The next phase focuses on expanding coverage across operational sites and ensuring consistent access to support where it is most needed.
“We want people to get help upstream, before real ill health,” Rachael says. “How can we build a prevention culture?”
What began as a loosely connected network has evolved into a measurable, prevention focused system. Mental health risk is identified, tracked and addressed with the same seriousness as physical risk. Volunteers are supported. Leaders have visibility. Decisions are driven by insight generated through partnership.
A blueprint for sustainable mental health support
Southern Water’s journey reinforces a critical lesson. Training alone is not enough. Without structure, measurement and ongoing support, even the most committed Mental Health First Aiders can become vulnerable, impact can remain unseen and confidence can weaken.
By combining deep discovery, executive sponsorship and a structured partnership with Everymind, Southern Water has moved from fragmented provision to a data informed, prevention focused provision. It is embedded within risk management, supported by evidence and driven by purpose.
And that is where sustainable change begins.
