Wellbeing Strategy Development for the Walton Centre NHS Trust

 

Overview:

The Walton Centre NHS Trust, a leading neurology and neurosurgery hospital in the UK, recognised the need to prioritise the wellbeing of its staff. As a healthcare organisation, they understood the significance of fostering a healthy and supportive environment to support employee wellbeing and enhance patient care and staff satisfaction.

 

The Challenge:

The Trust faced several challenges related to employee burnout, stress, and overall wellbeing. Long working hours, high-pressure situations, and the emotional toll of caring for patients with complex neurological conditions were taking a toll on the staff’s mental and physical health.

The Walton Centre had invested in staff wellbeing for a number of years and had already established a variety of initiatives/services:

  • Wellbeing strategy and steering group
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Employee benefit’s platform
  • In-house coaches
  • PDR – Wellbeing conversations lead by management staff
  • Wellbeing page on the intranet and communication/section in Walton Weekly
  • 28 trained Mental Health First Aiders
  • Pre-covid history of onsite fitness classes
  • Occupational health service

They had already achieved and maintained the Investors in People’s Bronze award for health & wellbeing for a number of years.

Objectives:

The primary goal was to develop a comprehensive Wellbeing Strategy that met national aims and guidelines, used the NHS Health & Wellbeing Framework released in 2021 and aimed to achieve the following:

  1. Support mental, physical, social financial and workplace-specific wellbeing.
  2. Represent employee Health & Wellbeing at Board and Divisional levels.
  3. Demonstrate visible organisational support.
  4. Provide all employees with appropriate occupational health support whilst at work.
  5. Increase management’s/department’s responsibility for the safety and management of employee wellbeing.
  6. Provide all employees with access to a proactive wellbeing programme and personal 1-1 support.
  7. Periodically measure the effectiveness of the health and wellbeing programmes.

Achievements:

The implementation of the Wellbeing Strategy yielded impressive results:

  • Achieved Investors in People’s Silver Award for their ‘we invest in wellbeing 3-year accreditation.
  • Trained 1 in 50 staff as mental health first aiders (MHFAiders) and over 40 in mental health awareness (accredited by MHFA England). Training provided by Wellbeing4business Ltd.
  • Developed the governance of MHFAiders and supported them with regular drop-in meetings to discuss key topics, and best practice and to navigate any difficulties in fulfilling their role. Meetings were chaired by Matt Holt-Rogers – Wellbeing4business Ltd.
  • Developed organisational structure for health & wellbeing.
    • Established a wellbeing steering group to monitor the implementation of the wellbeing strategy and provide feedback from their departments.
    • Built ‘departmental wellbeing teams’ to increase the flow of wellbeing information and increase engagement in wellbeing initiatives.
    • Collaborated with the communications team to develop a communications plan.

 

  • Developed and implemented a employee wellbeing programme.
    • Given health & wellbeing a brand/identitiy within the Trust with a logo and branding guidelines. To make any wellbeing communications easy to identify as wellbeing info.
    • Produced a monthly wellbeing newsletter – Walton Wellbeing.
    • Developed and communicated wellbeing services to support mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing.
    • Developed an annual health check programme to provide ALL staff with the opportunity to check key health risks.
      • In its first quarter, provided a health check to 10% of the organisation, and referred 19% to their GP for high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood glucose.
      • It was also established that a large % of staff were struggling with their sleep, menopause, exercise, alcohol use and energy levels.
    • Held monthly Wellbeing Wednesday events – Providers such as EAP providers have a stand outside one of the high traffic wards to promote the service to staff.
    • Provided anxiety drop-in sessions with the Neuropsychiatry lead for mental health awareness week.
    • Established staff networks for the LGBTQ+ & disabilities. These groups have hosted drop-in sessions in the staff wellbeing HUB.
    • Trained staff menopause champions and held menopause drop-in sessions in the staff wellbeing HUB.
  • Built a wellbeing dashboard to help make informed decisions with regard to employee wellbeing.
    • The dashboard collates data and information from Occupational health reports, ESR data, survey data (staff survey, pulse surveys and Bi-annual wellbeing surveys), health check programme and EAP.
    • The dashboard provides a quarterly report to key stakeholders and the board of directors.
  • Improved staff survey scores for wellbeing related questions.
    • Scoring in the top 3 in the acute hospitals category
  • Developed a Staff Wellbeing HUB.

Testimonials:

“The Wellbeing Strategy at the Walton Centre has been a game-changer. As a nurse, I feel more supported and valued, which has significantly improved my work-life balance and overall happiness.” – Emily, Registered Nurse

“I have seen a remarkable transformation in our hospital’s culture since the implementation of the Wellbeing Strategy. Our staff now feel empowered to prioritise their mental health, leading to better patient care.” – Micheal Gibney, Director of people

Conclusion:

The success of the Wellbeing Strategy at the Walton Centre NHS Trust serves as a shining example of how a healthcare organisation can prioritise the wellbeing of its staff and, in turn, improve patient care outcomes.

By addressing the challenges head-on and implementing evidence-based strategies, the Trust was able to create a healthier and more productive work environment for its employees, positively impacting the lives of both staff and patients.

 

 

Develop your wellbeing strategy and effectively support staff on their journey with your organisation.

We can deliver any or all of the services you need from the moment you decide to make a change, from planning the changes to running and managing your projects.

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If your organisation is looking to develop a wellbeing strategy or is struggling to create a sustainable change to manage employee health and wellbeing, Wellbeing4business Ltd can you help your organisation to develop a proactive and data-driven approach to employee wellbeing.

We can help to:

  • Achieve recognition for Investors in People’s “We invest in wellbeing standard”.
  • Score higher for wellbeing in the annual staff survey – NHS clients only
  • React to changes in employee health & wellbeing with efficiency and precision.
  • Design wellbeing programmes to address specific health risks.
  • Integrate your strategy with OH practices.