Prince William discusses suicide prevention at Mace construction site

On 13th  September 2023, one of our west London projects received a special royal visit to discuss the prevalence of suicide in construction with industry professionals and the charity 'Mates in Mind'.

The Prince of Wales has been committed to supporting men’s mental health and suicide prevention for many years. His visit included a roundtable with people from across the construction industry who shared their personal experiences and talked about the impact that mental health has had on their personal and work lives.

With workers in construction being at some of the highest risk of suicide in the country, rates nearly four times higher than national average, Mace is committed to supporting its employees in their mental health.

The partnership between Mace and Mates in Minds had led to placing a strong focus on promoting the implementation of proactive prevention strategies within the sector to ensure that employers support workers to maintain their mental health.

Prince William heard about how the partnership initiative is improving the understanding and awareness of mental health through the provision of workshops and training, enabling those who are at risk of mental health issues to receive the right support at the right time.

Mike Barford, Project Director, Mace said:

“It was a real honour to meet with The Prince of Wales and share some of the work that we’ve been doing with our site team to support them with their mental health. The culture around mental health and wellbeing in our industry is improving, but far too slowly – and we know if we want to make a real difference, we need genuine cultural change. I hope that moments like this one can help to drive that shift in attitudes.”

Sarah Meek, Managing Director, Mates in Mind said:

“We were truly honoured to host a visit from The Prince of Wales today, to discuss the importance of focusing on prevention, rather than crisis management, to reduce the unacceptably high number of suicides in the construction industry. As a charity we aim to ensure that no-one experiences mental ill-health through their work. Therefore, it was a wonderful opportunity during this visit to be able to raise awareness of mental health, to start conversations about the issues and contributory factors faced at all levels within construction, the impact that arises, and continue eradicating the stigma of mental ill-health and the barriers that surround it.”