A fantastic day was had by colleagues at yesterday’s Festival of Wellbeing at Brockholes Nature Reserve. It’s the third time we’ve been able to run this event and it was made even more special as the NHS marked its 75th birthday.
The festival brought together 100 colleagues from across the Trust, in a whole host of roles from personal assistants to health care support workers, to share their expertise, best practice and gave them the opportunity to make their own personal pledges to improve their wellbeing both at work and at home. The day kicked off with a warm welcome from Chief People Officer Rob Cragg and our Strategic Health and Wellbeing Lead, Jo Smith. We had creative team-building activities, drawing and creating bunting to show what wellbeing means to our colleagues.
We also heard from comedian, author, physicist and mental health speaker, Neil Hughes who provided guidance on how to improve personal resilience after a challenging couple of years suffering with anxiety.
In the afternoon colleagues got to choose from a range of activities including Bollywood dancing, a sleep workshop, Nordic walking, Aikido, mindfulness and much more!
Market stalls included information about our mental health and wellbeing texting service, Recovery College, blood pressure checks, head and hand massages and much more. Colleagues also received a planted willow tree from our Grow Your Own project, which is based in the grounds of our secure mental health inpatient hospital, Guild Lodge. It allows those receiving care, staff and community volunteers to grow flowers, fruit and vegetables to be sold, providing a sense of achievement and self-worth, helping with rehabilitation.
The health and wellbeing of our workforce remains one of our top priorities - thanks so much to our amazing Health and Wellbeing team for arranging this important event.
