100 Leaders: Wellbeing hampers

100 LEADERS: Wellbeing Hampers with Rachel De Silva

In December 2021, the Trust took delivery of our wellbeing hampers.

As part of the 100 leaders development programme, this initiative was designed to reinforce the importance of wellbeing through carefully chosen, sustainable products.

We spoke to pack leader, Rachel De Silva, about the impact her project has had.

Why did you decide to create a wellbeing pack as part of your 100 leaders project?

Initially, our pack started the programme with a different idea but we quickly realised that it was not feasible to execute.

We knew that we wanted a project that would support our staff and focus on wellbeing given the events of recent years. The idea for the pack came about in our pack discussions and organically grew to what was distributed.

The 100 leaders programme was a brilliant opportunity to execute this wellbeing pack. It has opened up doors in terms of networking, allowing me to make the contacts needed to bring this idea to fruition.

How did you decide what to include in the pack?

My pack brainstormed ideas of what to include based off the Trust’s values for looking after staff and what we thought would be useful.

One area we felt particularly passionate about was hydration, ensuring that all staff had a reusable travel cup and water bottle. This fitted in with Chief Nurse, Lindsey Robertson’s communication around the importance of hydration so we knew that this would support the executive’s message and care for our staff.

We had many volunteers to distribute the packs but, in the end, staff were coming down physically to pick up their hampers. They were so appreciative and I received loads of emails thanking me, which made my day!

What would you consider the most important part of the pack?

For me, it would be the wellbeing information on the pen and card.

There is a lot of work going on in the Trust to support staff with their wellbeing and we wanted to distribute that information everywhere. As well as boosting morale and recognising the work of our staff, the pack was designed to boost awareness of the many initiatives ongoing.

We cannot look after our patients if we are not looking after ourselves.

Why do you think Trust staff should focus on their wellbeing?

For me, it is evidence based that happy staff equals better outcomes for patients and better quality of care. We need to give our staff the space to look after themselves.

At the start of Covid we rallied together but we knew that the mental health impact of the pandemic would be much later. I am so glad that the packs came out when they did as it allowed us to shine a light on wellbeing and how much the Trust does to support this.

FEEDBACK

“Just passing on my sincere thanks for my Well Being Thank you pack. A lot of hard work has gone into coordinating this and really makes myself feel appreciated and know help is just at my fingertips with my mental health whenever I may need it both inside/outside the Trust”

- Lindsay Rhea, workforce systems and quality assistant

“I would just like to say thank you very much on behalf of my team for the wellbeing packs. Everyone is really pleased with them and has had a lot of fun unpacking them and seeing what was inside. It’s a really nice gesture and has certainly made staff feel valued.”

- Lucy Pocock, clinical coding training and audit manager