OTnews August 2021 | Page 36

FEATURE HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Staff feedback on the benefits of attending the group
The therapy team volunteers involved in the development of the wellbeing support groups
to accommodate social distancing . This restricted the time of sessions to most Friday afternoons , which meant that some staff found it challenging to attend , due to their working hours .
There was also the challenge of ensuring wellbeing support was available for all therapy staff . To accommodate this , we often came to groups with a laptop for people to sign on virtually , as well as hosting virtual groups for those who were working from home or elsewhere , due to their personal risk assessments .
Feedback from the wider therapy team included not always knowing the groups were running , which was resolved by emailing the whole therapy team to detail each group that was happening .
Others wanted more training and knowledge-based groups , such as learning practical interventions and resources that could be applied after the group .
In the third lockdown , starting January 2021 , the face-to-face wellbeing groups also included practical based mindfulness and relaxation scripts , which offered the opportunity to explore coping strategies and could be used outside of the group .
Wellbeing sessions continue to be valued by the therapy team . When the number of COVID-19 admissions reduced we changed our groups to every other week , with a focus on sharing resources and reflecting on implementation . We also used the group as an opportunity to reflect and plan beyond COVID-19 .
More recently ( early 2021 *) we have experienced another surge in cases , and attendance at our wellbeing groups has increased again .
Occupational therapists ’ roles in supporting staff health and wellbeing is now being shared across management and wellbeing leads in the trust . This has provided an opportunity to showcase the valuable role of our profession in providing this support to staff throughout the pandemic and beyond .
By sharing our efforts to support the wellbeing of our therapy team , we are encouraging others to implement similar groups within their own workplaces to support colleagues in these challenging times .
‘ I have found wellbeing sessions helpful and feel they would be useful to continue even without a pandemic .’
‘ I have found that sharing concerns with other colleagues has made a huge difference to my wellbeing .’
‘[ The group was ] somewhere to feel support for the every-day stress of ward work .’
‘[ The group was ] time to de-brief and stop and reflect on busy ward life and focus on self and own growth …’
‘ Thank you for the time and thought put into these sessions . They have been really useful and helped me to not feel alone during this time .’
‘ Sharing concerns with other colleagues has made a huge difference to my wellbeing .’
‘[ I ] felt a weight has been lifted by attending these sessions .’
References
Greenberg N , Docherty M , Gnanapragasam S and Wessely S ( 2020 ). Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during covid-19 pandemic . BMJ 2020 ; 368 : m1211
Zaka A , Shamloo SE , Fiorente P and Tafuri A ( 2020 ) COVID- 19 pandemic as a watershed moment : a call for systematic psychological health care for frontline medical staff . J Health Psychol . 2020 25 ( 7 ): 883-887 . doi : 10.1177 / 1359105320925148 . Epub 2020 May 5 . PMID : 32370621 .
Laura Dunger , advanced CAMHS occupational therapist , Abbi Ward , advanced neuro occupational therapist , Anna Howlett , advanced specialist occupational therapist , Medicine Therapy Team , and Linda Snook , advanced specialist occupational therapist , Medicine for Older people ( MOP ) Therapy Team , Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust . Email : Laura . Dunger @ NHS . net or Abbi . Ward1 @ NHS . net . * This article was written in March 2021
36 OTnews August 2021