‘Mental health First Aid’ is the next step forward in schools – Education Minister

First Aid in mental health in schools is the next step forward in First Aid measures, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo told The Malta Independent yesterday.

Minister Bartolo was questioned on the situation regarding First Aiders in schools, following statistics presented by the Minister in Parliament last week.

“So far, First Aiders have been associated with physical health. However, now it is considered wise to also prepare First Aiders in (dealing with) mental health,” said the Minister, noting that “issues of mental health in children have increased.” With First Aiders who are trained in mental health, Mr Bartolo said that “if there are people who are feeling stressed or depressed, they can recognise the signs and try to help them”.

The Minister explained that the course would be different to the First Aid course which is currently offered by the government, and will also seek to collaborate with NGOs.

Replying to a question in parliament last week, Mr Bartolo informed that throughout the past scholastic year, 69 teachers underwent training in First Aid, whilst 547 students also sat for training. The First Aid courses take place in July and September each year.

Despite this ‘step forward’, the table presented in Parliament last week shows that some state schools around Malta and Gozo do not have any First Aiders. Those that do, have 1 or 2 First Aiders on average.

According to the table, within the 109 state schools together, there are 152 trained First Aiders, whilst there are 157 trained First Aiders in the 10 independent schools put together. There are 48 trained First Aiders in the 24 Church schools around Malta and Gozo.