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