How can we help?: How we support 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, whether delivering care in the users' homes or our non-clinical staff working from home. That 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 involves bringing our attention to our present-moment experience as best we can. For example, we might pay more attention to how our body feels. Though training, it can help you find balance through life's ups and downs and respond more skillfully when faced with challenges.

Our Sussex Mindfulness Centre offers staff the opportunity to join our evidence-based Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy course. The course runs over eight weekly sessions, with the addition of guided meditations for participants to practice at home. Each class runs for a couple of hours and typically will have you starting a mindfulness practice, followed by an open discussion of people's experiences during the practice. There is no pressure to speak up in these sessions; if you prefer to sit and listen, that's fine. The classes want to support you, not provide any extra stress. Classes also include other relevant exercises to help you understand more about how your mind works.

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 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.

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Lastly, while working for us, we want you to feel supported, not just by the Trust but also by other team members. That's why each team at our services are offered Health and Wellbeing Funding to set up team away days. The days are 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.

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To learn more about the wellbeing courses we offer staff,?click here