By supporting the 'Covid-19: Are You Okay?' campaign we are demonstrating our commitment to promoting nurse wellbeing and mental health during and after the pandemic.
This means we recognise the often-distressing nature of caring for patients with Covid-19, particularly when patients numbers are high and resources are stretched. We also recognise the potential negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of nurses and other staff of working through the coronavirus pandemic, and are committed to providing support to those who are affected. We also recognise that the effects of this work may be delayed and/or enduring and will ensure support remains available after the crisis has passed.
In supporting the campaign we pledge to:
Provide easily accessible formal mental health and wellbeing support to staff for as long as it is needed;
Foster a culture of mutual support, in which staff are alert to the possibility that colleagues may be experiencing problems as a result of their work during the pandemic, and ready to offer informal support such as listening and signposting to internal or external sources of formal support;
Ensure that staff who are experiencing problems know that they will receive a positive, supportive response if they disclose problems, and understand that being asked ‘Are you OK?’ is a gesture of support and care, not an accusation of weakness.
We have already taken steps to protect staff mental health and wellbeing including;
Engaging with our Nursing workforce via our chatbot; this method has allowed us to ask questions to understand how our nursing workforce are finding both their work and personal commitments, and checking in on how they are they are feeling.
We have regularly shared resources to support positive mental wellbeing and links to sites for further support where required, allowing staff to be able to access them whenever they need and to ensure they have a point of contact if they would like to just hear a friendly voice.
Our core workforce support team have extended their hours to be available between 7am and 7pm matching all permutations of either shift start or finish time and have embraced the use of video calls to help keep the face to face human interaction with our workforce to provide continued support and wellbeing checks
Staff are the heart of our organisation; you have ensured the NHS was not overwhelmed in the initial peak – often at great personal cost, and continue to provide excellent and compassionate care to patients and their families. It is our responsibility to care for you, and to ensure that you are more than OK.
Lee Gudgeon, Managing Director of Reed Talent Solutions, said:
“Our commitment to the safety of our nursing staff has always been at the forefront of our work with the NHS. In recent months, as an organisation we have taken extra lengths to ensure that they are supported and know they are an important part of REED’s workforce.
We are proud of the resilience, courage, tenacity, and professionalism of our nursing workforce in such exceptional circumstances.
Managing Director, Reed Talent Solutions
"Their dedication has shown why the NHS is the backbone of our country’s healthcare, and that we really do have the best medical system in the world.”
