Wellbeing

Doctors

Help me, I’m a Doctor

Financial support for doctors and their families – bringing together five independent charities that can provide financial support for doctors when they need confidential financial assistance. These benevolent funds provide vital support to help doctors in genuine financial need get their lives and careers back on track.

NHS Practitioner Health

The NHS GP Health Service is a confidential NHS service for GPs and GP trainees in England.  The GP Health Service can help doctors with issues relating to a mental health concern, including stress or depression, or an addiction problem, in particular where these might affect work.  To read a letter from the Clinical Lead & Practitioner for NHS Practitioner Health  please click HERE , or click on the link above to to to the NHS Practitioner Health website.

Doc Health: a new confidential support service for doctors

Doctors battling stress-related anxiety and depression will have access to a new specialist-led support service, a joint venture from the RMBF and the British Medical Association (BMA). It is a self-referral service available to all doctors in the UK, and aims to provide confidential, specialist-led support for those suffering with stress-related depression or anxiety. The programme will initially run as a 24-month pilot, and aims to complement existing support services such as BMA Counselling and the Doctor Advisor Service.

The Cameron Fund

The Cameron Fund is the only medical benevolent charity which solely supports general practitioners and their dependents. We provide support to GPs and their families in times of financial need, whether through ill-health, disability, death or loss of employment. We help those who are already suffering from financial hardship and those who are facing it.

The Sick Doctors Trust

The Sick Doctors Trust is an independent charitable trust, established in 1996.  They provide early intervention and treatment for doctors suffering from addiction to alcohol or other drugs, thus protecting patients while offering hope, recovery and rehabilitation to affected colleagues and their families.  The Trust welcomes enquiries from any source and are happy to take anonymous calls and to talk to colleagues or members of the family of a doctor who is experiencing problems.  They operate a 24 hour telephone helpline on 0370 4445163 and are supported by donations from Kent LMC.

Royal Medical Benevolent Fund

The RMBF provides support for doctors and their families through all stages of their career and beyond. Our help ranges from financial assistance in the form of grants to a telephone befriending scheme for those who may be isolated and in need of support.

You Okay Doc? support Doctors’ Mental Health

You Okay Doc? support Doctor’s Mental Health through services like The Huddle, but also empowering Doctors’ Wellbeing through bespoke mental and emotional health aids.

KCC Release the Pressure Mental Health Support

Free expert advice from trained counsellors is available for every mental health concern, including:

• anxiety
• depression
• low self-esteem
• money worries
• relationship troubles
• stress
• suicidal thoughts

Mediation:

The BMA support GP partnerships through when disagreements arise between partners. They offer free mediation as part of BMA membership BMA Interpersonal mediation service for GP partners in dispute

Counselling:

Dover Counselling Centre
Dover Counselling Centre is a charitable organisation that offers an Employee Counselling Service for organisations that contract with us for their staff, as well as Training and Consultation to businesses and other agencies throughout Kent and beyond. The Centre offers both face to face and telephone counselling to staff who can contact us by telephone or email.

For further information please email Angie Wiggins, General Manager at Dover Counselling Centre (awiggins@dovercc.org.uk or angiewiggins@nhs.net), telephone 01304 204123 or visit http://www.dovercc.org.uk/

Training Hub support for wellbeing and resilience at work

Please click on the link to see the training hub support available: Kent & Medway Primary Care Training Hub

Practice Staff

Supporting the wellbeing and mental health of staff in primary care – guidance for staff and managers

Primary Care Managers Psychological Wellbeing Guidance
Primary Care Staff Psychological Wellbeing Guidance

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

The ICB has recommissioned the Employee Assistance Programme for all staff within the system including General Practice, and it has new functions. CiC brings a wealth of experience and has already reassured NHS Kent and Medway about the safety and confidentiality of the services it provides. For further information please visit the training hub website or contact the training Hub team who will be happy to help kmicb.kmpcth@nhs.net

Staff can also visit Wellbeing hub :: Kent & Medway ICS (kmstaffwellbeinghub.uk), reach out to one of the trained Mental Health First Aiders or speak to their line manager.

Wellbeing & Resilience Toolkit

This is a free online Resilience toolkit from Beyond Coaching for all NHS employees.

Looking after you too

NHS support on helping you manage your own health and wellbeing whilst looking after others.

A Looking after you Primay Care Coaching Service is also available, details of which can be found here: NHS England » Looking after you: confidential coaching and support for the primary care workforce


NHS Every Mind Matters

Information includes staying well at home, and coping with children being off school, as well as the challenges of working remotely.

Release the Pressure

Free expert advice from trained counsellors is available for every mental health concern, including:

• anxiety
• depression
• low self-esteem
• money worries
• relationship troubles
• stress
• suicidal thoughts

Growth Performance Mindset Plus (GPMPlus)

GPMplus services are designed by Primary Care, for Primary Care. They aim to support individuals and teams working within Primary Care – enhancing wellbeing, culture and resilience. Services include mentoring, education and practice resilience programmes – all of which are available for delivery across the UK.

Wider support

There are a range of support offers and resources in place for our NHS colleagues which suit a range of different health and wellbeing needs, including fitness, financial and more.

Kent & Medway Primary Care Training Hub

Supporting Primary Care Staff – There are a lot of resources available to help support a Primary Care workforce often faced with stress and challenges. Click on the link above to see the options to suit all wellbeing needs, including practical information to provide tips and guidance.

Leading during Bereavement and Complex Grief

Specific resources and guidance to help you navigate leading your teams in the wake of grief.

Facing bereavement at any time personally and professionally is difficult to say the least. Good leadership is at the heart of how you support people in the face of bereavement. In an article for the King’s Fund, Suzie Bailey and Michael West suggest that compassionate leadership is one of the most potent ways in which people can deal with what feel frightening and overwhelming.

In particular, this means paying attention to staff, truly listening to them and hearing the anxieties, stresses, and grief associated with bereavement. This is also about modelling good adaptive leadership when you’re working with uncertainty and complexity, and where you need to support and enable other people, facilitating actions and modelling leadership as something that can be practised by anyone, whatever their role or grade.

Exceptional leadership for exceptional times summarises what this leadership can look like in practice. Consider some of the ‘do’s and don’ts’ for leading and managing your teams after a bereavement (Oskarkilo 2020 written during the Covid-19 Pandemic).

Here are some simple steps to enable you, as a leader, to support your staff

When an employee tells you about a death of someone close to them it’s good practice to:

• offer your condolences
• assure them they do not need to come to work if they do not want to, and make it clear that work should come second
• ask how they’d like to keep in touch
• ask if there’s any important work they need someone else to cover, if appropriate

If someone is upset they might not be able to talk for long, or someone else might contact you on their behalf. If this happens, it can help to follow up with an email, or call them a few days later.

Communicating in a calm, empathetic way can help employees feel supported, and help ease their anxiety about work. Speak to your HR team to ensure that time off is in accordance with policy. In the first few days after a death it is important to communicate with them.

When you get in touch, it’s good practice to ask:

• how they are
• how they’d like to be in contact while they’re off, for example by phone or email, and how often
• if they want you to let others know about the death
• if they want to be contacted by others from work, for example to offer their support or condolences
• if they need any information or support from you, and signpost to any support that’s available to them
• if they’ve thought about returning to work, if appropriate

When someone at work dies it is good practice to:

• arrange letters from the Chief Executive to both the family and the team/service
• tell others at work the person has died, in a sensitive and personal way
• contact the health and wellbeing lead for specific support for the team leader, team and yourself
• offer support to staff affected by the death, some links are provided below (Cruse and ACAS offer specific guidance and support)
• contact the person’s family or next of kin to offer condolences
• let staff know how they can give their condolences
• share details of any memorial, if staff have been invited
• notify HR to ensure all procedures are followed for pay, contracts, pensions and other arrangements
• talk about the death with the team in a safe space enabling all to share their emotions – recognising they may be complex and prefer 1-1 or group spaces. Consider arranging for qualified/trained facilitation.

Where you don’t already have a bereavement policy, you may decide to publish one. Here is an ACAS template. Many organisations are also looking at Schwartz rounds, learning circles, debriefing conversations and other group conversations to support staff because talking things through is important for all.

Where you are concerned about a colleague at risk of suicide

There is a tragic reality that some of us will have concerns about colleagues at risk of harming themselves. Flags to be aware of include communicating that they are feeling much worse, would ‘rather not be here’, have considered suicide or have ideas about how they would kill themselves or they stop taking your calls. It can also be more subtle including appearing restless and agitated, not wanting to be with people, or not coping with everyday tasks. It is important to remain calm and not panic.

• If you are worried about someone may be in immediate danger call the emergency services
• If you are worried about the person but do not think they are in immediate danger encourage them to talk about their feelings and to seek help
• Asking simple, direct questions can help. This includes asking someone whether they are having suicidal thoughts. Ask open questions, give them time and try not to judge
• Suggest they call the confidential staff helpline in blue below. You can also call on their behalf
• Make sure you get support as well. Caring for someone else who is suicidal can be very emotionally draining. You are not alone.

Resources to enable you, as a leader, to support your staff