Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2020 to 2022

Introduction

As a Trust that employs over 5,500 people their health and wellbeing is one of our main priorities and features in our strategic aims. This document sets out the Trust’s Health and Wellbeing strategy for the next two years, providing a clear overview of the current provision whilst exploring improvements that can be made. To achieve our strategic aims we must provide a safe environment with access to help and support when needed which will ensure a mentally and physically well workforce.

This strategy is driven by both our own trust values to embrace the health and wellbeing of our population ensuring their needs are reflected and catered for and the NHS People Plan which details the importance of improving the health and wellbeing of employees. We must ensure that employees are safe and healthy. We will also take a systems approach through involvement in the Great Place to work which focusses on health and wellbeing.

There is clear research links that highlight outcomes of supporting a healthy workforce; increased motivation, morale and engagement leading to increase productivity and improved patient care, staff retention, reduction in sickness absence and increased employee commitment to organisational goals. All of these things build on our work to develop a positive culture.

Achievements

There have been many achievements for Health and Wellbeing in the year’s preceding this strategy and the initiatives and activities continue to increase as we continue to focus on supporting the health and wellbeing of the people who work in our organisation. Within the previous strategy, one of our objectives was to increase employee involvement and participation and we have seen an increase in people attending the variety of exercise groups and support groups that are available. We realise this objective remains important as attendance can be impacted by a variety of difficulties, more recently we have provided virtual options allowing staff to access sessions when they are more convenient. We recognise safety of our people is important and over the previous months we have supported home working from a Health and Wellbeing perspective.

The achievements have been categorised into four areas: Health and wellbeing initiatives;
Leadership support; Occupational Health Services and Muscoskeletal.

Health and Wellbeing initiatives

• Mindfulness and spiritual support
• Monthly Schwartz/Team Time
• Annual Calendar of wellbeing events
• Menopause support group
• Developed mental health activity champions
• Pledged to support Time to Change
• Developed financial support in collaboration with local banks
• Healthier food options in restaurant
• Regularly ask for staff input
• Ambassador Status Better Health at Work award
• Hosted Stress surveys in partnership with unions
• Trained mental health first aiders

Leadership Support

• Regular assurance through Culture Group and Workforce committee
• National Staff Survey to track progress
• Engagement, Development and Wellbeing training for Leaders/Managers
• Regular Health and Wellbeing sub-group
• Journey into Leadership provides development opportunities
• Health and Wellbeing key strategic aim in Corporate Strategy
• Mandatory training e.g. Manual Handling; Appraisal

Priorities

There is a strong system wide focus on promoting wellbeing, preventing ill health and addressing inequalities.

A Key priority is to ensure that all leaders have a common understanding of the Health and Wellbeing agenda and have a commitment to their role within it.

We will achieve this by:

• Ensuring initiatives are supported with strong and visible leadership at Board and Senior level
• Having a Health and Wellbeing guardian at Board level
• Embedding a culture through the Trust that focusses on Compassionate Leadership
• Discussing Health and Wellbeing as part of the appraisal process and when conducting 1:1’s
• Providing all managers with the opportunity to attend the Engagement, Development and Wellbeing training to ensure that they have the tools to have supportive conversations
• Involvement in Great place to work
• Providing governance to Health and Wellbeing through Culture Group and Workforce Committee

Our people have access to high quality and timely occupational health services.

Care must be provided that is high quality, person-centred, timely and effective ensuring our people can take greater control over their own health and wellbeing.

We will achieve this by:

• Continued assurance that the people we employ are safe to do their role
• Early referral to Occupational Health where a health concern develops or continues
• Continued Occupational Health specialist clinical advice to support our people at work and to reduce the risk of illness, injury and absence
• Continued support for our people’s mental wellbeing, with clear signposts to the support available
• Education of managers around positive Mental Health, providing them with the knowledge and skills for them to confidently deal with mental health concerns
• Target and reduce levels of specific work related ill health which cause absence in a proactive way

Both mental and physical health are promoted and valued

There is often a distinction made between ‘mind’ and ‘body’ but mental and physical health should not be thought of as separate.

We will achieve this by:

• Continuing our pledge towards Time to Change
• Continuing to provide access to psychological and emotional wellbeing support such as Schwartz rounds, Team time, Mindfulness sessions, Emotional Resilience, Stress workshops, Sleep workshops
• Providing people with access to psychological support
• Equipping managers with knowledge and support to be able to support people to feel confident and safe to speak up and ensure that they can take appropriate action
• Increasing people trained as Mental Health First Aiders
• Maintaining access to a range of services such as Occupational Health, Mental Wellbeing advisor, staff counselling
• Encouraging open conversations about mental health and the support available
• Ensure we provide physical activities which can support both physical and mental health
• Providing permanent wellbeing spaces for our people

Our people influence health and wellbeing initiatives

We must listen to the voices of our people and proactively use data and information to identify improvements.

We will achieve this by:

• Acting on the information that is collected on a yearly basis from the National Staff Survey
• Continuing to provide opportunities for people to share their suggestions for Health and Wellbeing initiatives
• Continuing to provide focussed Stress Surveys in collaboration with the Trade Unions
• Performing pulse surveys for the quarters in-between Staff Survey
• Using our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion groups to identify needs and provide support for all

We provide environments and opportunities for people to lead healthy lives.

People must be able to make informed choices that support their wellbeing whilst also enabling them to promote Health and Wellbeing for patients, carers and their families though Making every contact count conversations.

We will achieve this by:

• Regular promotion of campaigns, events and initiatives
• Inclusion of Health and wellbeing at induction and threaded into mandatory training
• Continuing to promote health lifestyles through Wellbeing You
• Taking part in the Active Hospital work
• Promoting active travel such as the Cycle to work scheme
• Providing free Flu Vaccinations for all our people
• Sustaining our Better Health at Work award
• Continuing work to ‘Keep people safe’ through a focus on violence and bullying in the workplace
• Continue working to support financial wellbeing of our people
• Continue supporting population health work and ways to support those who are more at risk from long term effects of covid-19

There is a sustained focus on education people on musculoskeletal health

There must be a continued focus on addressing Muscoskeletal health, our information tells us that this impacts on our people’s ability to do their jobs. We must provide early and easy access to treatment.

We will achieve this by:

• Increase manual handling champions
• Deliver ergonomic training or assessments as required
• Education of managers of MSK through the Engagement, Development and wellbeing session
• Encourage activity in our staff to develop core strength and increase exercise

Measuring success

This is a strategy to improve and maintain the Health and Wellbeing of all the people who work in our Trust. It is important to recognise that whilst there are some aspects of
improved health and wellbeing that can be measured in the short term, the greater importance must be that we see consistent and constant improvement.

We have tangible measurements that are already considered. The trust has the annual objective to reduce sickness absence below 4%, the current position is circa 5% this is an overall position. Work has been undertaken to ensure that these measures are department specific recognising the changing environments can result in differing outcomes.

There are a number of questions which are included within the national Staff Survey that are dedicated to health and wellbeing and targeting improvements on these metrics is crucial. We will also combine this with quarterly pulse surveys to determine the needs of
our people. Linking to our Equality and Diversity work we will also recognise and address differences in outcomes between different groups of staff.

We are data rich in the trust and have many metrics such as referrals to services which promote healthy living – Stop smoking, Know your numbers, and other support groups. A new addition would be to ask those who are leaving us (via exit interviews) as well as new starters (on boarding) health related questions to enable us to set benchmarks and measure progress.

All of these ideas will be consolidated as part of the health and wellbeing annual work plan formulated by the Staff Health and Wellbeing Group. Governance will be maintained through Culture Group and the Workforce Committee.