The dedicated charities of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust have invested more than £350,000 to improve staff rest areas across all hospital sites, since 2020.
Donations from Love Your Hospital (for St Richard’s, Worthing and Southlands hospitals) and BSUH Charity (for Royal Sussex County and Princess Royal hospitals) have helped refurbish and upgrade more than 150 staff areas with new furniture and kitchen facilities, as well as planting and seating for outside staff areas.
Linda Folkes, Clinical Trials Nurse & Research Champion Lead, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex), said: “Having an outdoor seating area has been a great boost to our health and wellbeing during this current situation. It has meant that we can have a break away from our desks and computers, to refocus and eat our lunch in comfort and also get some fresh air at the same time.”
The two charities have also collaborated with external charities and local communities to secure donations of more than £290,000 towards staff areas, including a ‘Wellbeing Garden’ at St Richard’s Hospital, the ‘Serenity Garden’ at Worthing Hospital and two communal staff lounges at Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Sussex County Hospital.
Matthew Stanbridge, Housekeeping Assistant and Healthcare Assistant, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex), said: “Having a space that is dedicated to staff wellbeing is so important. It is great to have a social area – social contact is important, with everything going on. There are so many great people who work here and lots of friendly faces to meet and speak to at the lounge.”
Throughout the year, the charities also invested an additional £32,000 towards a series of ‘creative wellbeing workshops’ across all hospital and satellite sites, providing staff with a space to go to decompress.
Tracey Molina, UHSussex Cardiac Rehabilitation Team Lead, who attended a workshop at Southlands Hospital, said: “The team created a lovely relaxing caring environment for staff. I felt much looked after, cared for and valued!”
Dr Maggie Davies, Chief Nurse, UHSussex, said: “Over the last 20 months, our dedicated charities have been committed to supporting the refurbishment of staffing areas across all our hospitals. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us, including those who generously donated to our charities’ Covid-19 appeals and also to NHS Charities Together who provided funding during the pandemic, specifically to support staff at our hospitals.”