Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
Today is the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week and this year, more so than ever, the mental health of our 20,000 members of staff across our hospitals is vitally important to us.
Thanks to your generosity, we’re helping to provide a wide range of support for our NHS Superheroes during this really difficult time that will help the mental health of our staff members.
We’ve set up staff wellbeing hubs around our hospitals where our NHS heroes can go to take some time away from the ward to relax. These hubs have been filled with food and drink, comfortable furniture, activities and games including mindfulness activities, all with the aim of helping our staff to relax and de-stress.
Alongside our welfare hubs we are supporting the amazing Chaplaincy team at the Trust to carry our mindfulness training with staff across the hospitals which can help them to manage their mental health during stressful and difficult times.
Jeanette Guest is the Senior Sister on Ward 517 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. She and her team have been part of the mindfulness scheme at the hospital, and Jeanette has spoken of the benefit that the scheme brought to her and her team.
She said: “Mindfulness has had a positive effect on our staff members in providing them with skills to deal with everyday life, and especially to deal with the really difficult challenges that we’re facing at the present time.”
Charlotte Schofield, Director of Fundraising at University Hospitals Birmingham Charity, said: “This Mental Health Awareness Week we want to raise awareness of the amazing work that our NHS Superheroes are doing at this really stressful time. Our staff are all doing their absolute best to care for all of us, and as a Charity we want to do everything we can to support them.
“Looking after the mental wellbeing of our staff is a high priority for the Charity, and we’re asking for our supporters to help us to do more for our staff by making a donation this Mental Health Awareness Week.
“With the incredible donations that we’ve had since the start of the pandemic we have been able to make a massive difference to our staff, and we want to continue to do this over the coming weeks and months.”
You can make a donation today in support of our NHS Superheroes here.
