Speaking during a panel discussion at the 5th Nation Mental Wellness and Counselling Conference held on Friday in Nairobi, PSC Vice-Chairperson Mary Kimonye said the Commission had put mechanisms in place to support the mental wellbeing of public officers.
“There is an evident rise in mental health challenges across workplaces in both the public and private sectors. It is high time we mainstream mental wellness services to address this challenge,” she added.
Kamonye noted that government has established a dedicated counselling department under the State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development.
She said the Commission has hired professional counsellors to attend to public officers and members of the public as well.
“The Government has established a dedicated department for counselling under the State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development. The Commission has also hired professional counsellors who are available to attend to public officers and members of the public as well,” said Kimonye.
She further noted that PSC disciplinary processes are well elaborated to protect public servants from discrimination or mistreatment.
Speaking at the same event, the Chief Guest, Principal Secretary for Public Service and Human Capital Development, also highlighted the progress made in addressing mental wellness in the country.
She announced that the Government has rolled out a toll-free telephone service through which members of the public and public officers can access professional counselling at no cost.
The 5th Nation Mental Wellness and Counselling Conference, themed “Creating Mentally Healthy Workplaces: From Awareness to Action,” brought together stakeholders from the public and private sectors to deliberate on progress made, emerging challenges, recommendations and action points for advancing mental wellness in workplaces.
