Charity-funded ‘wellbeing wagon’ brings support closer to hospital staff

Hospital staff have been given better access to wellbeing initiatives and support thanks to UHNM Charity funding.

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) staff at Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford are now able to take advantage of UHNM’s wellbeing and engagement offer in a dedicated portable hub.

Thanks to a grant from NHS Charities Together, the Trust’s Organisational Development Team was able to purchase a ‘wellbeing wagon’ that can be transported to each hospital for staff to book into.

The year-long initiative will give staff easier access to a range of wellbeing support as well as career development and leadership classes both internally at UHNM and from external agencies.

Ro Vaughan, Director of Human Resources at UHNM said: “We listened to feedback from staff who told us that we needed to get closer to our wards and departments when it comes to wellbeing initiatives. Often our hard-working staff don’t have time to attend workshops or classes across sites so our wellbeing wagon brings what’s on offer closer to them.

“Ensuring we support our colleagues is incredibly important at UHNM, particularly given the exceptional challenges of the past two years. We know that when staff wellbeing is higher, there is a positive impact upon patient experience. We want to improve UHNM as a place to work as well as receive care.

“Whilst it might prove difficult for staff to leave their areas on an ad-hoc basis, the wellbeing wagon is available for staff to pre-book as a safe and private space together to improve staff experience and I encourage as many staff as possible to try and find the time to step away from the work environment and take advantage of what help and support is available to them.”

The wellbeing wagon will also be used by UHNM Charity for upcoming fundraising and awareness days promotion.

Lisa Thomson, Director of Communications and Charity at UHNM added: “We’re very grateful to NHS Charities Together and our generous supporters who have made this initiative possible. Our UHNM staff have been faced with some very hard times over the past couple of years so it’s incredibly important they can easily access wellbeing support and therapy when they need it.”

For all enquires please email rachel.polwart@uhnm.