Lloyds Bank will become the first company to be tested against a charity’s new set of standards that help essential service providers do better support for their customers with mental health issues.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute is dedicated to breaking the link between mental health and money problems. As part of a new plan the charity is reaching out to companies who are related with money to help them understand and address the challenges people with mental health could face.
Lloyds will evaluate how accessible its services are to their customers. Then the charity will make recommendations on how the bank can make the process easier for those struggling with mental health.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute will test the bank on three key areas, including: how well they train staff to support customers with mental health problems; whether they offer a wide range of communication channels; and what tools and support they offer to help people stay on top of their situation when they are unwell.
Martin Lewis, founder and chair of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said:“Dealing with essential services can at times be frustrating and difficult for all of us. Yet for some of the twelve million people in the UK with mental health problems, fear or difficulties navigating through the bureaucracy can lead to them being locked out, unable to use or pay for electricity, water, banking, the internet and more. Many firms already rightly make adjustments for people with physical or sensory conditions, yet until now they haven’t done the same for customers with mental health problems — leaving a significant number of people at financial disadvantage or at its worst a psychological risk.
“We want to encourage services to change, which is why we’re excited to launch our Mental Health Accessible standards, which we hope will make it easier for firms to make it easier for those with mental health problems. We’re grateful to Lloyds Bank for putting its head above the parapet to be the first firm to have its services tested by the standards, hopefully giving it the opportunity to improve. I hope this will be the first of many firms doing it.
“And while this should make a huge difference in ensuring all essential services are more accessible to people struggling with their mental health, it’s very likely to have knock on effects for all customers – simplifying systems, and ensuring people can contact firms in the way that best suits them.”
Fiona Cannon, responsible business, sustainability and inclusion director at Lloyds Banking Group, commented: “Our purpose is to Help Britain Prosper and our ambition is to shift mindsets to recognise that we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health. We believe that with the right support we can help our customers and colleagues with mental health conditions to thrive. We are delighted to be the first company in the UK to have our services tested against these standards. We want to make a real difference to people’s lives and well-being and make our services accessible to all.”
Four in 10 people with mental health issues have major “admin anxiety” this leaves them unable to effectively use essential service providers.
