Colleague Spotlight: Jay Grihault

October 10^th is World Mental Health Day, and to mark the occasion, we spoke to Medical Record Specialist and mental health champion, Jay Grihault, to discuss his first few months at Fletchers, his role as a mental health champion, and why it’s more important than ever to champion mental health in the workplace.

What has been your journey with Fletchers so far?

After initially receiving a Law degree from Lancaster University, but deciding not to pursue a legal career, I was both surprised and hopeful when I applied to work at Fletchers. I had been working in the retail and service industry since I was 16 so this felt like a shot in the dark. However, I was given an interview and was successful in applying for the role of Medical Record Specialist.

The Medical Records Specialist role focuses on collecting medical records and radiology within clinical negligence and personal injury cases. Initially, we will receive instructions from our Legal Team with details of the allegations and where we should request records from. During the process of collecting and finalising the records, we communicate with the Client Care Team, the Healthcare Trusts and our Legal Teams. Once we have collated the records, we complete all the necessary GDPR checks before passing them over to our team of Nurses who complete a pagination of the records.

I started working here in May this year and it was a big change for me as it was my first office job which was initially quite intimidating. However, I quickly settled into my role within Medical Law Services (MLS) and soon found my feet. Medical Law Services is a subsector of Fletchers Group who are responsible for obtaining, GDPR checking and paginating any medical records required for cases of clinical negligence or personal injury. As a company, we are just over a year old and are rapidly expanding.

From then I gradually took on more roles from being a Mental Health Champion, becoming a Mental Health Champion Co-ordinator for the Southport office and now the NeuroNetwork coordinator as well. This has been extremely refreshing as I have been allowed to pursue these areas alongside my role as a Medical Record Specialist with nothing but support from my team.

Describe a typical work day for you.

From calling GPs and hospitals to request medical records for our client’s to keeping the legal teams updated with our progress, there is never nothing to do. In my line of work, we all play to our strengths and will tackle what we’re best at which has granted me a level of independence I greatly value.

As a mental health champion and NeuroNetwork coordinator, I am also involved in anything from signposting, advising and reassuring colleagues who require some time one-on-one to having meetings regarding the Colleague Wellbeing Hub, our internal wellbeing platform, and how this can be improved. My favourite thing about my position is the variety it carries with it whilst providing me with the stability I need to thrive at Fletchers.

Today is World Mental Health Day, tell us a little about why you became a mental health champion.

I became a mental health champion as soon as I was informed the position existed. I have always greatly struggled with my mental health and in turn, I have received a lot of therapy and had a lot of life experience.

As a mental health champion I can use what I have been through in order to help others who may find themselves in similar situations. It is a greatly rewarding feeling to have someone come to you for help and genuinely be able to make a difference to their experience in that moment.

I will always make time for those who need my help. After struggling for so many years and feeling completely isolated, I know first-hand how valuable these kinds of roles are and I make the effort to offer out everything I needed when I was in the reversed position.

Why do you think it’s important to have mental health champions in a workplace in 2024?

Being someone who has struggled with their mental health since very early on, I found a big sense of relief when I learned of Fletchers’ approach to mental health. I believe all businesses should have mental health champions as anyone can struggle with their mental health, regardless of which industry they work in.

By appointing these champions, there is a solid network in place for any employees that may require support and I would hope that this becomes standard practice in all businesses. The benefits of this are vast in scope, the bigger picture being an increase of productivity and job satisfaction across the business whilst ensuring the wellbeing of individuals who may be feeling isolated and unsure of how to get the help they need.

I’ve been on the other side of it, and now, being a mental health champion, I have found a level of job satisfaction that I haven’t experienced in my previous roles.

To know that I can make a genuine difference to those who struggle day-to-day with their mental health feels like a full circle moment and I would encourage anyone who may be in need to contact your office mental health champions – even if just to introduce yourself and get to know the support network around you.

If you could give your younger self career advice, what would you say?

I would say, relax and take your time in finding a role that truly makes you happy. There is no rush to have your life together by the time you’re 18, 20 or 30 and it is completely okay to try as many jobs as possible.

As long as you are happy, keep doing what you’re doing and always be proud of yourself. It’s only by trying a variety of roles and industries that will allow you to find a job that you enjoy coming to and get a true sense of fulfilment from.

What is something people would be surprised to find out about you?

I think that a lot of people who find out I’m autistic tend to be quite surprised. It wasn’t until I was 21 that I even realised.

With that said, I never felt quite like everyone else but I think the word Autism has become a loaded word with a lot of misconceptions.

I think that unless people actually take the time to understand that autism appears in a vast spectrum, it can come as a surprise that we can be high functioning, social and open about our neurodivergence.

This is a primary reason I became the NeuroNetwork coordinator so that people who may be struggling but can’t explain why will have a strong community and won’t have to feel so isolated.

What has been the highlight of your Fletchers career so far?

Whilst I’ve only been here for five months, there have been so any opportunities that have been offered to me since I started. I was refreshed to see how easily I settled into my role within MLS and get to know everyone on the team.

The social events outside of work also helped me find my people and now I look forward to coming into the office and seeing what each day will entail.

The independence to pursue projects outside of my primary role truly motivates me and I have been met with support at every step. I can’t wait to see what else I can achieve during my time at Fletchers.