FEATURE HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Supporting staff wellbeing in an acute trust during COVID-19
Laura Dunger , Abbi Ward , Anna Howlett and Linda Snook look at the development and success of a trust-wide wellbeing support team for staff , precipitated by concerns about the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers
Our therapy services team consists of approximately 260 whole time equivalent therapy staff , including therapy support staff , occupational therapists , and physiotherapists across an acute NHS teaching hospital . We provide a range of specialist therapy services to clinical areas across the whole trust , which hosts over 1,100 beds . In early March 2020 , the therapy team was asked to support the trust to plan for a potential surge of people being admitted with COVID-19 . During this time , the idea of creating wellbeing support teams was proposed . This was informed by the growing evidence highlighting concerns about the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers , including increases in depression , anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder ( Zaka et al 2020 ). Volunteers from the therapy team came together to explore how we could support the wellbeing of our staff . A five-person team was formed , consisting of one physiotherapist and four occupational therapists . We created wellbeing pathways , informed by literature , on how to support healthcare workers and their wellbeing during lockdown . These initial discussions focused on four areas : home life , talking sessions , resources and support for leaders , identified from research ( Greenberg et al 2020 ) and our experience of working within the environment .
34 OTnews August 2021
© tutti-frutti via Getty Images