JPF First Aid

In episode 13 of the JPF First Aid podcast, host John Fogarty and guest Mo Bury discuss neurodiversity in the workplace, focusing on ADHD and dyscalculia. They explore the unique strengths and challenges of individuals with these conditions, such as ADHD's creativity and high energy levels, alongside potential organisational difficulties. They also offer practical strategies for workplace support, like task structuring and technology tools. Emphasising awareness and inclusivity, they advocate for reasonable adjustments that allow neurodivergent employees to thrive without the strain of conforming to neurotypical standards.Key TakeawaysThe episode highlights ADHD and dyscalculia as unique brain types, bringing both strengths (like creativity and problem-solving) and challenges (such as focus issues and numerical difficulties) to the workplace.Simple workplace adjustments—like shorter tasks, time management tools for ADHD, and calculator access for dyscalculia—can greatly support neurodivergent employees, allowing them to perform effectively.Promoting neurodiversity awareness helps create inclusive environments, where employees feel comfortable working in ways suited to their cognitive needs rather than masking as neurotypical.Key moments“We can be sure that if we understand a person’s individual processing style, then in the workplace, we can support them around that rather than trying to make them fit a square peg into the proverbial round hole.""Something as simple as allowing people to move around the office. It can be hugely helpful. Or stand up in meetings… if I can think better standing up, why would that be a problem?""If you had somebody who was partially sighted and they were working for you… you would think it perfectly reasonable to make a few adjustments. In the same way, if a person was walking with crutches, just a few simple things. But we do that because we understand those things. The challenge is people not understanding what it’s like to have a brain that works differently to the majority." About the guestMo Bury specialises in helping people shift their perspectives to drive meaningful change. Mo offers support for businesses facing challenges like managers struggling to achieve results, leaders who aren’t inspiring followership, disconnected teams, or an "us vs. them" culture across silos. By collaborating closely, Mo creates tailored solutions—whether one-time events, comprehensive training programs, or personalised coaching—to transform perspectives and, ultimately, behaviours.About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

In episode 12 of the JPF First Aid Podcast, John Fogarty hosts breathwork expert Carmel Hughes, who discusses the importance of breathwork for mental and physical well-being. Carmel explains how our breath patterns change with stress and lifestyle, often creating unhealthy habits. She shares techniques to reconnect with functional breathing to reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance emotional health. Carmel also leads a simple breath exercise, encouraging listeners to tailor breathwork practices to their needs. Finally, she emphasises the value of consistent practice and introduces her upcoming online course on breathwork and stress management.Key TakeawaysBreathwork aids in managing stress and emotions by consciously adjusting breath to send calming signals through the nervous system.Recognising negative thought habits allows for better mental control, impacting emotions, behaviours, and physical health.Regular, adaptable breathwork tailored to individual needs fosters sustainable mental and physical well-being.Key moments“Our thoughts control our emotions, and our emotions control our behaviour. So if we’re aware of all this...being aware that this is happening...we can actually interrupt this thinking style.” “Meet yourself where you are and give yourself what you need. And from minute to minute, that is simply going to change for every single one of us.” “Control the controllables...and when you start the awareness, be kind and gentle to yourself, and don’t beat yourself up...because we are now learning another new skill, and until we’ve learned something, it simply isn’t automatic.” About the guestCarmel Hughes is a dedicated Breathwork and Mindset Facilitator who empowers individuals to harness the power of breath and mindset for enhanced well-being, reduced stress, and improved performance. Her approach combines insights from neuroscience, positive psychology, and mindfulness, helping clients build sustainable wellness routines. In her personalised sessions, Carmel guides clients in integrating lasting techniques into daily life, fostering resilience and mental clarity. She also collaborates with organisations to create wellness programs that reduce anxiety, promote psychosocial safety, and elevate workplace engagement. Known for her friendly, accessible style, Carmel tailors wellness frameworks that nurture thriving, positive work cultures.About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

John Fogarty discusses the importance of CPR, emphasising that it stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and is crucial for keeping blood and oxygen circulating to vital organs. He explains the "chain of survival," starting with early recognition and calling for help, followed by CPR, defibrillation, and post-resuscitation care. John notes that confidence in performing CPR is low, with only 51% of people feeling prepared. Carrie Bacciocchi joins the episode to highlight the real-world impact of CPR training, reinforcing the need for consistent education. CPR, combined with defibrillation, significantly improves survival chances in emergencies.Key TakeawaysCPR, which stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is vital for maintaining blood flow and oxygen to vital organs, improving a casualty's chances of survival.Early recognition, calling for help, starting CPR, and using a defibrillator are crucial steps in the "chain of survival" to improve outcomes for cardiac arrest victims.Performing CPR can be both physically exhausting and emotionally intense, with adrenaline playing a key role during emergencies, followed by a need for post-event support.Key momentsJohn: “If (you take) anything from this podcast, please go out and learn those all important life saving skills”.John: “if we can get an early defibrillation involved, which is step three of that chain of survival, that then helps to restart the heart, where it then looks at analysing the heart rhythm and see whether that is in a shockable rhythm to then restart that heart”.Carrie: “Unfortunately, we did have to go to defib, so I was talked through by the person on the other end of the phone while we waited for the ambulance to arrive”.Carrie: So something very simple that could have been looked after quickly and dealt with went on to life saving actions needing to be taken.About the guestCarrie Bacciocchi is self-employed with a background in education, she supports children who struggle with attending school. After discovering Utility Warehouse in 2014, where she saved on bills, she found an opportunity to earn residual income by helping others save money.About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

On this episode of JPF First Aid, we speak to Mandy Gutsell of Know Limits Ltd. Mandy discusses the impact of menopause on women and addresses the issues around the stigma of menopause in both men and women. Mandy stresses that although it can be a difficult process to go through, it’s a time of natural change and that you are never alone in what you’re going through. In this episode, we discuss a lot of the challenges posed by menopause, and steps you can take to help cope, and Mandy provides some tips and tricks to make people more comfortable in both the workplace and everyday life to those going through the menopause.Key TakeawaysMenopause is a time of natural change. It's not like you wake up one day and suddenly there's this dramatic change, it tends to happen over a period of time and Mandy addresses some of the signs and symptoms of it.Mandy believes that there’s a stigma around menopause, particularly in Western culture. We dive into some of the reasons as to why this may be, and how we can help to tackle that stigma.More can be done in the workplace to help people going through the menopause and create a more comfortable environment for them. This can even be little things such as having dialogue with them and taking on board their needs.Key moments“I remember being aware of these changes and thinking to myself, well, I don't know. Do I speak to somebody about that? Am I just, almost getting into my head about it too much? What will people say? I felt quite embarrassed by it.”“We're also in a culture which, to some extent, is great, where there's a lot of information out there, and that's a good thing, so we can find out a lot more things. But equally, the amount of information you can get can also be quite conflicting sometimes.”“It shouldn't be something whereby a person is made to feel there's something wrong with them or that, they're somehow, being made to feel that they're being a burden or embarrassed.”About the guestMandy Gutsell is the founder of Know Limits Ltd and has been helping individuals and organisations since 1991. There are four main services to the business - Coaching, Therapy, Supervision and Training/Consultancy. The key thread running through the four services is the underlying focus on mental health. At Know Limits they believe in encouraging NO limits and placing no limitations on the mind however they are firm believers in boundaries and KNOWing your own limits, hence their philosophy: Know your Limits, whilst having No Limits.Mandy delivers a range of courses with the Training Service. This includes Mental Health First Aid England courses for staff in workplaces to qualify as Mental Health First Aiders. Mandy's expertise is in care, education, health, emergency frontline services, HR and Health and Safety leads. She supports the people who support others to try and reduce the risk of burnout.Connect with Mandy: https://www.knowlimitscoach.com/About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

On this episode of JPF First Aid, we speak to Mo Bury about neurodiversity in the workplace. Mo runs Momentum Training who offer neurodiversity in the workplace training, transformative coaching, and insights into behaviour and culture change, as well as conference speaking.Mo talks us through some of the statistics and obstacles people with neurological disorders face in the workplace. Mo offers insights and tips for employers as to how we can make our workspace more comfortable for those with neurological disorders, and steps as to how we can support people.Key TakeawaysPeople with neurological disorders are less likely to speak about it to employers due to fear of being looked down upon.Those with neurological disorders can be key assets to the workplace as they can spot things that other people may miss.We still have a long way to go as a society to be inclusive for those with neurological disorders, including adapting the workplace to make it a more comfortable environment.Key moments“At the ripe old age of 50 something, I became aware that my brain worked a bit differently, and realised that I wasn't just disorganised and untidy. And why did I have to have everything out where I could see it? I realised that my brain worked differently.”“Whether somebody's got a physical disability or a mental one, whether they are suffering short term or long term, whether they're menopausal, tired, bereaved, stressed, it doesn't matter. Any good employer will sit down and go, okay, how can I help you do your job in a way that works for you?”“Nobody's trying to be somebody they're not. They can just be themselves and that is a lovely idea. That's a world I'd like to live in.”About the guestWhen Mo first learned about neurodiversity, she was convinced that she was neurotypical. The more Mo learned, the more she recognised it in herself and had a lot of, "oh that makes sense" moments. She joined the ADHD UK Facebook group and she says it was like she'd suddenly found a group of people just like her, with the same frustrations and challenges. At 59 Mo says she doesn't feel the need for medication so is in no rush (private diagnosis costs a lot) and is happy to continue learning how she can work with her brain to help it be healthier and function better whilst she waits on the NHS list for a diagnosis, which will be about 2 years. Mo has gone through her whole life not knowing that her brain likes to do things differently to other people and she has beaten herself up for all the silly things that it didn't do so well. When she became "aware" everything changed. Mo put systems in place to help support what her brain doesn't like doing and stopped being mean to herself when it messes up occasionally. The Thrive Neurodiversity & Mental Health Neurodiversity training Mo delivers in one global organisation is helping other people become aware of just how easy it is to make the world a better place for those brains that don't fit into the majority box, so everyone can be at their best at work.About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in the workplace and educational environments. John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

On this episode of JPF First Aid, we speak to Jessica Radford who is the author and creator of the Animal Advisor series.Jessica was in a job where she was unhappy. After handing in her notice, she was out of work for several months but after seeing a squirrel struggling in her garden it opened up a whole new career. Jessica began her Animal Advisor series and journey as an author, and hasn’t looked back since.Key TakeawaysJessica explains how her books not only help to promote good mental health in children, but also those slightly older or those buying the books for children.You can have money and be in a comfortable position, but the most valuable thing is your mental wellbeing and how you are feeling.As well as writing the books, Jessica also does a lot of work to help a number of different charities, which she discusses in this podcast.Key moments“I felt that I had no right to feel unhappy because I was so lucky to have what I had and I thought that I had it all but in truth, I wasn’t living a very fulfilling life.”“I feel as if I’ve got so much to say now and I’ve tried to cover as many issues as I can with my books. I’ve written nine stories in the series so far and I have loads more ideas.”“It’s getting people thinking more about mental health and I know there’s a lot more awareness these days but there is still a lot of stigma around it, and I wanted to help normalise talking about mental health.”About the guestJessica always had a love of books and reading from a very early age. She attempted to write a few stories when she was a child and after losing touch with writing for a while, sat down at her laptop a few years ago and her first story, ‘The Squirrel Who Couldn’t Balance’ just ‘happened’. Since then, the stories just seemed to have flowed and Jessica’s love of writing has returned with a vengeance. Jessica loves spending time with her family, walking, visiting the theatre, and has a great love of music and dance. Of course, she loves to read too and personally, enjoys reading a wide variety of books, particularly historical fiction (especially anything about the Tudors or World War 2 era), crime and thriller novels plus, as a child, she was always drawn to animal stories. About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in the workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

On this episode of JPF First Aid, we speak to Michelle Ohren who is a Detective Inspector and also heads up the Cyber Resilience Centre. Michelle has 28 years of police service having been involved with many different types of crime throughout her career.Cybersecurity can be something that causes us a lot of anxiety. How do you ensure all your accounts and online life is safe? In the age of the internet and living in the world of social media, Michelle talks us through some tips on how we can be safe online, and what we can do to protect our accounts.Key TakeawaysAlways set up two-factor authentication for your accounts if possible. If something doesn’t seem right or you’re unsure about an email/link, don’t open it.Be conscious what you post on social media can be used against you. Regularly update software and applications.Asking for support from family members or organisations can help when you’re not 100% sure about something, or you believe something has been sent which is not from them. Key moments“Cyber is a part of our everyday life now within your home environment let alone your organisation. You’ve likely got a laptop or a smartphone, and you’ll use those for emails, banking and online shopping. But then we go into the realms of smartwatches, your Apple, your Fitbit.”“With the growth of social media platforms, information is so much easier than ever as well to be gathered about you, your family, your habits. And they will use that in order to make the phishing more relevant for you.”“We know that approximately half of all organisations have suffered a breach in the last 12 months, with half of those saying it’s happened at least once a week. We know that these things are there, they’re happening.”About the guestMichelle has been in policing since 1996, joining CID in 1999, this has given her a wealth of experience in policing a variety of different crime types throughout the West Midlands. She has worked closely with other organisations and charities during these investigations to provide the necessary support to victims and develop new processes and best practices between organisations where needed. This has often meant supporting change both within policing and the partnership organisations, giving her the ability to develop long-standing working relationships, which she brings to her role in the CRC.About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in the workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/

In this episode of JPF First Aid we speak to Karen Hagan, a financial adviser and pension transfer specialist with Four Oaks Financial Services. Karen has been a financial advisor for eight years, and has worked in the financial services industry for the last 27 years.Financial stress can significantly impact mental health. In this podcast episode Karen shares her knowledge of the financial services industry and tips to help you take control of your finances. We talk through how financial products like pensions and protection work and how you can create a plan to take control of your finances. Key TakeawaysRegularly look at your budget, income and outgoings. Detail and check over every element and make sure you aren’t paying for things that you don’t use or need.There is a 61% chance of a 40 year old being unable to work for more than two months due to illness so it’s really important to have an emergency fund and the right protection in place.Seeking support from a financial advisor can improve emotional well-being by fostering a sense of control and security over financial matters and empower individuals to make informed decisions.Key Moments"I've dealt with a lot of clients who, since COVID have really been impacted financially, but that's also had an impact on their mental health. I dealt with a lady who unfortunately had been made redundant during COVID And things then spiralled for her. I was able to help her by sitting down and working out with her a plan in order to pay off her debts and a plan to take her forward as well”."If you are looking for financial advice, you should look for somebody local to yourself who is happy to deal with you in whatever format you prefer, whether that be face to face or remotely via video calls”."I've done a mental health first aid course (with JPF First Aid) recently because I really thought that that would benefit, in particular my vulnerable clients who do come to me with those anxieties about money or with mental health issues that have been exacerbated, if you like, by financial problems”.About the GuestKaren Hagan started in financial services 24 years ago as an Administrator and became qualified as a Financial Adviser in 2016. Helping with financial planning, and specifically with advice on Pensions, Investments, Protection, Corporate Protection and Long-Term Care planning; Karen also has a specialist qualification in looking after Vulnerable Clients.Four Oaks Financial Services: https://fouroaksfs.com/About the HostJohn Fogarty has a training background dating back to 2005, with achievements including a teaching qualification and assessor standard. He has previously worked with two first aid charities, delivering sessions in workplace and educational environments.John has consistently received excellent feedback for his delivery and customer service, as evident in numerous reviews. He ensures learners enjoy and achieve their goals, and works with customers to select the right courses and resolves any issues promptly.Find out more at https://jpffirstaid.co.uk/