'And breathe' : How we offer wellbeing support to our staff at SPFT

In one of our roles at Sussex Partnership, you will do amazing things each day to change the lives of our service users. However, when you give 100% to your role every day, along with the subject matter you may face, it can be hard to provide the same energy each day. At Trust, we recognize that you cannot be your best if you feel drained, so we offer a variety of ways to support staff in their wellbeing.

Firstly, we know that taking time to step away from work to reset and recharge is hugely beneficial to bring the best version of you to work. This is why when you join us in one of our fantastic full-time roles, you receive a generous holiday entitlement, giving you time to focus on the things that matter to you most. Additionally, we also understand how in 2023, the workplace has changed. At SPFT, we recognize that many groups of our staff are increasingly working in non-traditional ways; be it delivering care in the users' homes or our non-clinical staff working from home. This is why we offer flexible working to staff. We know that a positive work/ life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which have a positive impact. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.

But what about while you are at work? Along with providing you time to speak with managers via supervision, we also offer you the chance to participate in one of our workshops, helping you find ways to improve your mental health.

First up, we offer all staff the chance to sign up for one of our free mindfulness courses. "What is mindfulness?" I hear you ask. Mindfulness training can help you find balance through life's ups and downs and respond more skilfully when faced with challenges. Practising it can help you learn to pay attention in the present moment and begin to notice habits of the mind that might not be helpful. The courses run for eight weeks and are primarily online, allowing all staff to be able to participate.

Following this, we're working with The Thrive Team to offer the opportunity to participate in their resilience workshops. Open to all staff, the workshops help you to develop everyday strategies to help you to feel resourced and resilient, enabling you to thrive and not just survive. The workshop aims to provide you with an introduction to or a reminder of ways in which we can look after ourselves, not just when times are tough, but every day. Each person receives an electronic version of the workbook they can use during the workshop to develop their resilience action plan and refer to afterwards.

Lastly, while working for us, we want you to feel supported, not just by the Trust but also by other members of your team. That's why each team at our services are offered Health and Wellbeing Funding to set up team away days. The days are designed for staff to get together and blow off steam by doing something fun outside our wards. This also gives you more time to get to know each other than just the five-minute tea break chats.

To learn more about how we care for staff, click here