A campaign aimed at improving quality and safety by ensuring staff have all the information and tools they need to protect their health and wellbeing and flourish at work, has been launched at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) and other Bay Health and Care Partners (BHCP).
The ‘Big 5’ campaign is based on a similar staff campaign launched in other NHS trusts across the country and highlights the five areas that the Trust wants all staff to consciously think about each day to ensure their safety and wellbeing. The five areas the campaign focuses on are:
· Make sure you have the Right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
· Don’t forget to take a break
· Remember - it’s ok not to be ok
· Speak up
· Be kind The campaign will run from next week until early July and will share information, hints and tips and resources in each of the five areas.
Dr Shahedal Bari, Medical Director, UHMBT, said: “The passion and drive that our teams across our hospitals and in our community services display each day is always awe-inspiring but in recent months, it has been at another level. Whilst we know this is the ‘can do’ attitude that makes our Trust and the wider NHS great, working in such intense and difficult circumstances as regularly as they are now can have an impact on their health and wellbeing.
“The ‘Big 5’ campaign contributes to our focus on quality and safety as it helps us ensure our staff feel their best and have all they need to do the best they can for our patients. It also fits perfectly with our Flourish campaign, which was launched back in 2016 to support teams across the Trust, as it allows us to share key information and advice to help promote good physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“The aim of the campaign isn’t to try to tell colleagues what to do or gloss over any challenges or issues they may be facing; it is to ensure that they know why each area is important, what support we are offering and how they can ask for help if they need it.”
The campaign will focus on the below:
Make sure you have the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Ensuring all individuals have the correct level of PPE they need to do their job safely is important all year round but especially at the moment with the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This part of the campaign will collate all the essential information staff may need, including which PPE should be worn in which situations, how they can access training and fitting and what to do if they need to escalate any supply or other issues.
Don’t forget to take a break
Colleagues across the Trust are working harder than ever to care for patients in hospital and the community so it is vital that they are encouraged and supported to take regular breaks wherever possible. Although it can be difficult for some colleagues to take a break, the ‘Don’t forget to take a break’ part of the campaign will share tips on how to wind down and relax and information on areas where colleagues can go to relax on their breaks such as rest areas and the Flourish mile route around each of the Trust’s main hospitals.
Remember - it’s ok not to be ok
The third part of the campaign aims to encourage colleagues to look out for themselves and those around them and empower them to seek help if and when they need it. Whilst there will be tips and hints around looking after everyone’s mental health both in and out of work, there will also be information on the types of support available from the Trust and its partner and how to get help.
Speak up
A key part of staff health and wellbeing is feeling confident that the employer will act on any concerns raised and be open and honest in responding to those concerns. This new campaign will also focus on why it is important for everyone within the Trust to speak up if they witness or experience anything that they have concerns about, how they can raise any issues, and how they will be supported throughout the process.
Be kind
The Trust developed a Behavioural Standards Framework which highlights the behaviours that everyone should expect to see and those that they should not expect. Whilst teams are under intense pressure at the moment, this part of the campaign is focused on encouraging everyone to continue to be kind to themselves and their colleagues. It will also ask the public to continue being supportive of health and social care teams by treating them with respect and sharing kind messages of thanks via the Trust’s website at: https://www.uhmb.nhs.uk/get-in-touch/sayingthank-you.
Shahedal, concluded: “This campaign is part of a larger package of colleague health and wellbeing initiatives as we appreciate that there is no ‘one size fits all’ and that everyone has different needs. By having a number of opportunities for teams to get advice and support, we hope that this will help everyone to know what is expected of them and where to go if they need further help or guidance.”