Gloucestershire staff to wear the rainbow to celebrate staff hub

Staff at Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital are marking its Staff Advice and Support Hub’s first birthday today (Thursday 14 May) with a rainbow-themed day.

Staff have been encouraged where possible to dress or accessorise in colours of the rainbow to brighten up colleagues’ and patients’ days and to show hope and support for each other during these challenging times. In addition, the two main restaurants on each hospital site will be serving an exciting array of rainbow-themed foods for its staff, patients and visitors.

Shelly Alder, Catering Services Manager from Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS) came up with the idea of Rainbow Day to make staff feel connected and to boost morale. She said: “In the past few months the rainbow has been an icon of hope and solidarity, and since COVID-19 staff from across GMS and the Trust have been working longer hours in difficult circumstances. I felt that a rainbow-themed day would help to recognise our staff and their hard work and to boost morale. I’m really pleased with the enthusiasm which staff have shown towards the Rainbow Day idea and think it’s a great way to recognise our fantastic Staff Advice and Support Hub too.”

Rainbow Day will coincide with the first birthday of the Trust’s Staff Advice and Support Hub, known as the ‘2020 Hub’. Since the service launched in May 2019, it has helped hundreds of staff with a variety of issues. With the current COVID-19 pandemic the role of the Hub couldn’t be more vital, offering support to colleagues when they need it the most. Between 4 March and 26 April they have received 2293 points of contact from staff requiring extra help and support.

Emma Wood Deputy CEO and Director of People said: “The health and wellbeing of our staff is a top priority and we’re delighted to be celebrating the 2020 Hub’s first birthday in this way. Without the dedication of our colleagues we would be unable to provide the care we do to our patients. The 2020 Hub has helped staff over the past year and particularly so during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team who dedicate themselves to resolving our colleagues wellbeing concerns have helped over 2700 people in the past two months. I’m not sure we can remember ‘life’ without this service and the Trust is committed to making sure it continues to grow and develop.”

Services offered by the hub include:

• Physical health and wellbeing: Access to a broad range of exercise and fitness classes, healthy eating, weight management, occupational health and physiotherapy referrals.
• Mental and emotional health and wellbeing: Access to a telephone counselling service (24 hours a day) offering up to six counsellor consultations/sessions. Where appropriate, access to the hospitals clinical psychology staff support team.
• Financial health and wellbeing: As well as support for financial management there is also access to information about NHS discounts and salary sacrifice programmes.