Health and wellbeing
As an organisation, we recognised the individual challenges our people faced, and worked hard to ensure we supported them to have the personal skills and resources in place to manage their own wellbeing effectively.
Last year, we published our wellbeing strategic plan which set out actions to achieve over the next three years to improve our service provisions to our colleagues. Whilst this focused on mental health, we worked with our occupational health provider to ensure we continued to improve access to other health treatments, including musculo-skeletal referrals.
Our approach within the wellbeing strategic plan was two-fold, additional support for our colleagues alongside training and awareness sessions for our leaders.
As a result, it became more apparent that developing wellbeing capabilities at individual, manager, and leader levels, was an urgent and high priority, along with providing better support for colleagues dealing with mental health challenges.
A task and finish group which included the chair of the Multi-Faith Network and our chaplain, was set up to develop a broad support group which recognises all faiths and beliefs to deliver an inclusive community and holistic approach.
Within the NHS, mental health was highlighted as a common concern for staff attributed to the often pressurised environments and emergency conditions in which we work. At EEAST, mental health consistently remained the top sickness reason throughout 2022/23 which aligned with the rest of the wider NHS.
Last year, EEAST:
- Continued to build our health and wellbeing team.
- Launched our wellbeing network and monthly newsletter.
- Agreed to the blue light commitment for mental health at work.
- Delivered an annual ‘flu vaccination programme.
- Expanded our trauma risk management (TRiM) teams, including advanced TRiM practitioners.
- Launched our wellbeing champions programme and integrated it across EEAST.
- Trialled resilience training delivered to emergency operations centre colleagues.
- Launched 'Five Ways to Wellbeing'.
During 2022, the GoodDOG project was set-up.
An initiative for colleagues’ own dogs to become approved wellbeing support dogs. The first dogs were approved in early 2023.
We continued to receive enquiries and 37 further colleague dog owners have been in touch to get involved.
Welfare wagons
We reviewed the way we operated our welfare wagons and purchased six new vehicles through capital funds. The model was transformed into a mobile wellbeing service to better meet the needs of colleagues across the east of England region. The vehicles included a confidential safe space for colleagues to be able to talk privately and were staffed by a team of welfare volunteers.
The wagons provided counselling and physio services and were supported by chaplains, therapy dogs and have a comprehensive programme of support.
We worked alongside our non-executive Board member who serves as a wellbeing guardian for EEAST to effectively address the difficulties.