Private Sector Collaborates with Government to Support Workers' Mental Health
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The private sector is working with the Ministry of Health to support workers’ mental health through the Mental Ease at Workplaces programme.
The collaboration was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Otsuka Group Indonesia and the Marzoeki Mahdi Mental Hospital (RSMM) in Bogor, which operates under the Health Ministry in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday (9 July).
“Through this collaboration, RSMM employees will be facilitated to receive mental health service support. This will serve as a pilot project and hopefully become a best practice at other hospitals,” said Dr Nova Riyanti Yusuf, a doctor at RSMM Bogor, in a statement received in Jakarta.
Under the strategic partnership, RSMM, acting as the custodian of the National Mental Hospital, serves as both a collaborator and a partner in running the Mental Ease at Workplaces programme.
She added that RSMM is ready to see the programme through over the long term.
“We are committed to supporting Otsuka in running this programme by facilitating the professionals we have at RSMM. What is most important is that the output of this collaboration must deliver real impact and become a sustainable programme,” said Dr Nova.
Meanwhile, Dr Ockti Palupi Rahayuningtyas, Director of Referral Health Service Governance at the Health Ministry, said cross-sector collaboration of this kind is an important foundation for public health in productive environments.
“The signing of this MoU is a very good start. I greatly appreciate RSMM and Otsuka for their full commitment to running the mental health programme in the workplace,” she said.
Sudarmadi Widodo, HCD & Corporate Communication Director at Otsuka Group, said the initiative is a strategic step by the private sector to support the government’s agenda.
“Otsuka, through the Mental Ease at Workplaces programme, is a form of the private sector’s commitment to supporting the Ministry of Health in creating mental wellbeing in Indonesia. This aligns with our corporate philosophy: Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide,” he said.
Through the Mental Ease at Workplaces programme, Otsuka Group Indonesia and RSMM hope to set a new standard for human resource management in Indonesia, whereby workplace productivity goes hand in hand with sound employee mental health.
The Mental Ease at Workplaces programme is an initiative by Otsuka Group aimed at creating mental wellbeing in the workplace while eliminating the negative stigma surrounding mental health issues.
Developed together with the Health Ministry, the programme takes a promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative approach through a series of activities such as training, education, treatment by professional health workers and other support systems designed to help companies build a caring and responsive workplace culture around mental health.