Wellbeing Resources
You are not alone
Working in primary and community care is tough, but you are not on your own. To do our best, we need to be in good physical and mental health. It is only when we are well, that we have sufficient resources and energy to be the compassionate practitioner our patients need. The resources on this page cover a range of physical and mental wellbeing options available to the workforce in Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS).
Index of Wellbeing Resources
Our NHS People – Health and Wellbeing Resources
The Our NHS People website lists a range of resources to help you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others. This includes:
Confidential telephone support (numbers for general support and bereavement support)
Support by text message
Access to a number of free wellbeing apps
Short guides and learning sessions to improve your experience of work
Access to groups to connect with peers across health and care
Financial Wellbeing
Our NHS People know that financial concerns have consistently been in the top 5 reasons our people call the free support helpline run by the Samaritans. Therefore they have partnered with the Money Advice Service to bring you financial wellbeing support to help you manage your finances at home.
The Money Advice Service is an organisation who work to improve people’s financial wellbeing across the UK, and can provide you with free, independent support. The Financial Wellbeing pages also offers links to money management tools, advice about benefits, scams and other sources of financial help.
Your Health Your Way - Integrated Wellbeing Service
Your Health Your Way is Nottinghamshire’s new Integrated Wellbeing Service funded by Nottinghamshire County Council and delivered by ABL (A Better Life) Health. They are available to help all residents of Nottinghamshire (excluding Nottingham City) to:
Get more active
Eat healthier
Manage your weight
Drink less alcohol
Stop smoking
They offer realistic and practical support for people to make life long healthy behaviour changes.
Wellbeing Pocket Guides for Newly Qualified Occupational Therapists
Transitioning from being a student to a qualified occupational therapist (OT) is a demanding time at the start of your professional career and can sometimes be quite challenging. The identity and lifestyle of a student ceases as the world of work replaces it.
In March 2020 The Elizabeth Casson Trust commissioned an exciting project called Year 1: Thriving not Surviving, to create resources to support the wellbeing of newly qualified occupational therapists in their first year of practice.
If you are an OT in your first year of practice, download and take a look at the guides. They are not meant to be worked through in one go but are designed to help you pause, reflect and work on aspects of your life which may be challenging.
Mental Wellbeing App by NHS Practitioner Health
Available to any member of the Primary Care Team. Through the app you will gain access to customised content curated by NHS Practitioner Health, including self-care information, links to useful resources, other relevant organisations and weekly mental fitness reports and podcasts. This will enable you to monitor and track your own wellbeing and identify areas where you might need some additional support.
5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing
Evidence suggests there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help you feel more positive and able to get the most out of life.
Connect with other people
Be physically active
Learn new skills
Give to others
Pay attention to the present moment (mindfulness)
Read more about each step and their dos and don’ts via the link below.
GP-S – Mentoring and Coaching for General Practice
GP-S is a free peer mentoring, coaching and signposting service for General Practice.
GPs who are eligible can contact us to be linked to an appropriate peer mentor within a number of days. Individuals can then access up to 4 sessions of support lasting 2 hours each over 12 months. You can discuss anything you would like in confidence, and work to create positive steps forward.
GP-S can be used by anyone who would like to explore ways to develop themselves or have a problem or opportunity they are not sure how to move forward with. This could be personally, professionally or within your career. They aim to build resilience in the General Practice workforce by allowing you time and space to develop your personal goals.
Learning from Excellence
Learning from Excellence is a supportive community who are working to enable health and social care professionals to share excellent practice. Their aims are to:
Learn from what is working well in our organisations
Provide positive feedback to staff
The website has lots of helpful resources and links to support the implementation of learning from best practice in your organisation. You can also be connected with other healthcare professionals to learn and share from each other.
Nottinghamshire Staff Support Hub
The Nottinghamshire Staff Support Hub (NSSH) provides support to healthcare and social care staff working across Nottinghamshire. It is run by experienced clinicians and offers anonymous and confidential psychological support, counselling, and emotional advice, to staff that assess themselves to be, in any way affected by COVID-19.
Call: 0808 196 8886
Email: nottsstaffsupport@nhs.net
Response to the pandemic
The below model highlights different states of emotional and mental health.
Thriving
“I got this.”
Calm and steady with minor mood fluctuations
Able to take things in stride
Consistent performance
Able to take feedback and adjust to changes of plans
Able to focus
Able to communicate effectively
Normal sleep patterns and appetite
Surviving
“Something isn’t right.”
Nervousness, sadness, increased mood fluctuations
Inconsistent performance
More easily overwhelmed or irritated
Increased need for control and difficulty adjusting to changes
Trouble sleeping or eating
Activities and relationships you used to enjoy seem less interesting or even stressful
Muscle tension, low energy, headaches
Struggling
“I can’t keep this up.”
Persistent fear, panic, anxiety, anger, pervasive sadness, hopelessness
Exhaustion
Poor performance and difficulty making decisions or concentrating
Avoiding interaction with co-workers, family and friends
Fatigue, aches and pains
Restless, disturbed sleep
Self-medicating with substances, food or other numbing activities
In Crisis
“I can’t survive this.”
Disabling distress and loss of function
Panic attacks
Nightmares or flashbacks
Unable to fall or stay asleep
Intrusive thoughts
Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
Easily enraged or aggressive
Careless mistakes and inability to focus
Feeling numb, lost or out of control
Withdrawal from relationships
Dependence on substances, food or other numbing activities to cope
This model is adapted from: Watson, P., Gist, R., Taylor, V., Evlander, E., Leto, F., Martin, R., Vaught, D., Nash, W.P., Westphal, R., & Litz, B. (2013). Stress First Aid for Firefighters and Emergency Services Personnel. National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Other factors include:
Carers responsibilities
Financial
Bereavement
Psychological safety
Workplace adaptions