Leeds Hospitals Charity is supporting exhausted NHS staff during Covid pandemic - and you can help too
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Leeds Hospitals Charity has funded the appointment of four new staff members as part of an extensive wellbeing programme for frontline health workers, including those who are treating patients with Covid-19.
It means there are now more people there for any Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust staff who normally work in other departments and have been exposed to upsetting situations during the pandemic.
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Hide AdCharity chief executive Esther Wakeman said: “Our NHS colleagues are working so hard during this time and they always prioritise their patients, so we are pleased to be able to do
something that supports them.
"When they spend a full day in personal protective equipment and can’t even hug their colleagues at the end of a hard shift, it is important that there are other ways for them to access support.”
It is just one of the many practical ways that the charity and its supporters are making a difference on a daily basis, whether for staff themselves or for the patients and families relying upon them for care.
During the pandemic, Leeds Hospitals Charity has been able to provide more than £1m to support the health and wellbeing of those NHS heroes. This included a donation of more than £400,000 from the organisation NHS Charities Together, raised by fundraisers all over the country.
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Hide AdAnd with the support of more regular donors here in the city, the charity would be able to do even more to back projects that the NHS does not fund but which have the potential to do so much good for hospital staff and patients.
It is why the Yorkshire Evening Post has joined Leeds Hospitals Charity today to begin the Help Your Hospitals campaign. It asks our readers to help the charity to raise an additional £3m during 2021 by becoming a friend and making a regular donation each month towards equipment, services, education and research at our local hospitals.
The £1m donated towards supporting the wellbeing of staff last year has helped to renovate staff areas, including staff rooms on wards, and funded care packs to boost morale.
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Hide AdFour new staff members - two clinical psychologists, a health and wellbeing practitioner, and a mental health first aid project lead - have also been appointed.
The two psychologists have joined an existing team dedicated to supporting staff who work in some of the most stressful environments across the trust's eight locations.
Jason Miller, one of the new psychologists, supports staff in the cardio-respiratory teams and has seen first-hand the impact that responding to the crisis has had on them.
“In the first wave, staff were running on adrenaline, and although they have fantastic clinical and medical training, none of them were emotionally prepared for these months and months of hardship," he said.
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Hide Ad"Our staff are so dedicated and selfless, they want to do whatever they can to help their patients and some felt ashamed to say they were struggling.”
Mr Miller said he had been pleased to find that many of the staff felt comfortable to speak up about how they were feeling and approach him or his colleagues for help.
He added: "My job is to reassure them that ‘it’s ok not to be ok’. Our staff are dealing with emotionally and physically draining situations on a daily basis.
"I hope that the one positive change triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, is that there continues to be more onus put on psychological support for all staff.”
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Hide AdThanks to the charity's support, a programme of mental health first aid training is due to be rolled out for NHS staff over the coming months. This training will give staff the tools they
need to provide the best possible peer-to-peer support for colleagues who are struggling.
A dedicated staff chaplain will also be appointed using charity funds, offering another important route for staff to access support they might need.
Text FRIEND to 70660 to donate £5 a month or visit leedshospitalscharity.org.uk to set up a regular donation for any sum or make a one-off gift to the charity.
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Hide AdAlso in news: The Leeds and Yorkshire NHS workers among 221 staff who have died after contracting Covid-19
What is Leeds Hospitals Charity?
Leeds Hospitals Charity - previously known as Leeds Cares - is the dedicated charity for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The charity works closely with the team of more than 18,000 people who work at our local hospitals to support projects that the NHS does not fund, helping to relieve pressure on staff and make a real difference to the experience of patients and their families.
With the support of generous donors, it makes that valuable contribution by raising funds for equipment, services, education and research.
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Hide AdThe charity provides support for eight areas which include Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds Children’s Hospital, Leeds Cancer Centre, St James’s University Hospital, Chapel Allerton Hospital, Seacroft Hospital, Wharfdale Hospital and Leeds Dental Institute.
It supports NHS staff working at each of those locations to deliver the best care for more than a million patients and their families each year.
Working with local communities, schools and businesses across the city and beyond, it provides an average of £5m in additional funding for the trust each year.