Each month, a different member of staff from St George’s Hospital in Tooting will be bringing us a blog post about what they do.

I’m Rhia Gohel, the Health and Wellbeing Lead at St George’s, and a Health Psychologist by training. It is my role to ensure that our staff stay happy and healthy, so that they can deliver the best quality care to our local communities.

I have been at the Trust for just under a year, and in that time, the Health and Wellbeing Team have been very busy! We aim to promote good health in three broad areas: mental health and workplace stress, diet and exercise, and improving musculoskeletal conditions.

The mental health and wellbeing of our staff is very important and is something that we take very seriously.

We deliver regular mindfulness sessions, facilitate mental health awareness training as well as specific awareness days and events around improving mental health so staff are supported and feel emotionally well and capable to cope with the demands of their role. In October 2017, we held a staff mental health “Time to Talk” day at our St George’s site and again in February 2018 at our Queen Mary’s site.
 

Last month, we launched a staff mental health booklet,  provided to all staff, full of advice and information on common mental health conditions, as well as a list of resources and organisations where staff can get further support.

We have also developed our staff support service for staff who are experiencing emotional distress or a mental health condition, which can include one-to-one counselling.

As well as improving emotional and mental health in the workplace, we have also put a range of measures in place to ensure that our staff feel physically fit to work. Alongside our lunchtime and after work activities – such as yoga, pilates, gardening club and even reggaecize – we regularly run events and promotions to ensure that physical health is at the forefront of the minds of our staff, whether that’s through our deskercise events or even our regular staff massage sessions.

We also support our Occupational Health Team with the rollout of flu vaccinations to keep staff and their patients safe over the winter period. In fact, St George’s this year had the highest number of staff in London vaccinated out of all NHS Trusts!

Working in a busy environment often means that staff grab a quick lunch or snack which might be unhealthy and take the lift to get somewhere faster – but over the last year, we have improved the availability of healthy food and drink options on site and actively encourage people to take the stairs instead of the lift, walk to work wherever possible and join the Trust’s cycle scheme.

How can you improve your mental and physical health? Try these simple steps:

• Jump off the bus or tube a stop early and walk the rest of the way. If you drive, park the car a bit further than you normally would.
• Take the stairs! It will help towards getting your 10,000 steps a day!
• Plan your meals in advance – that way you will be less likely to pick unhealthy options.
• Practice mindfulness for five minutes a day. To find out more about mindfulness, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/ 
• Take five minutes out of your day to catch up with a friend.
• If you feel sad, smile. Even if you are faking it, research shows that pretending to smile raises endorphins, our natural feel good hormone, in our body.
• Make sure to take some time to step away from the computer, TV or laptop and stretch.

Follow @StGeorgesTrust on Twitter to find out more about #NHWeek2018 and how St George’s is raising awareness. You can also tweet @StGeorgesTrust about how you’re getting involved or share what you’ve learned!

Want to hear from a particular service or department at St George’s in next month’s blog post – let us know! Email communications@stgeorges.nhs.uk with your suggestions with the email title “Tooting Daily PRSS blog”.
 

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