The NHS Trust in East Cheshire recently invested in a wellbeing day for their team, hosted by the Anderton Centre.

The NHS staff attending are part of the Critical Care team who have been dealing with COVID over the past six months, and the team comprised of ten people; one Consultant Intensivist, seven Critical Care nurses including senior and junior staff members and two nurses from Theatre.

The Critical Care and Theatre teams joined together earlier this year, and in March they won team of the month. They wanted to invest the money they won in staff wellbeing, especially as they continue to work extremely hard to look after the sickest patients in the hospital.

Cristina Diaz Cid Robbie, Practice Educator for Critical Care in the East Cheshire NHS Trust had attended two sessions at the Anderton Centre on previous occasions and enjoyed it so much she didn’t hesitate in selecting the centre for the team’s wellbeing day.

Cristina commented; “We wanted to give staff a fun time and enjoy the outdoor environment, giving them some much needed time away from the clinical areas. The objective of the sessions were to make the staff feel valued and give them the opportunity to relax, and this was achieved in abundance as everyone truly enjoyed the experience at Anderton Centre and had fun. People felt valued and relaxed.”

The team took part in numerous activities including low ropes, archery and paddle boards and enjoyed the outdoor space as well as the catering facilities. They were supported by the team at the Centre to ensure everything ran safely and smoothly.

Cristina continued, “At the moment, we are being bombarded with wellbeing tools such as online courses, which in my opinion, are not for everyone. As humans, we need to be in contact with others in order to relate to our emotions and feel heard. The Anderton Centre is in a privileged position where it can offer fun to everyone, and having fun is the best way to relate as humans. We all need to play and to work together without feeling judged, and playing games such as low ropes, archery and paddle boarding make you feel happy!

There is a great need at the moment to invest in people’s wellbeing and I believe the Anderton Centre has all facilities to enable this to happen safely. I hope other NHS Trust will invest in their staff’s wellbeing through the Anderton Centre. My advice would be to just let your staff have fun, be outdoors, try new things and play different activities without any pressure.”