Wellbeing in the workplace is essential. In busy environments such as healthcare services, it can be easy for colleagues to forget their own hydration and nutritional needs. As we explore different aspects of wellbeing through Wellbeing Awareness Week, we spoke with Kate Hall, a Specialist Dietitian working with the team at Thornford Park. She shares the role of the BDA Work Ready programme in helping ensure those providing care look after themselves, which in turn helps them look after others.
Kate, tell us about yourself and your role.
I’m a Specialist Dietitian and, during my time working with the team at Thornford Park, I’ve embedded some different initiatives. To best support patients in terms of their nutrition and hydration, it’s important that there’s a consistent message. We need to all be saying the same things, and that we all know what good nutrition and hydration entails. So that way, if a patient decides they want to set a goal of making healthier choices at lunchtime, for example, those who are supporting them know what that healthier choice is and can support them to make that choice.
But they also have a role in modelling good hydration and nutritional behaviour – again, showing a consistent message. And it’s essential for their own wellbeing that they look after themselves at work, as well as the people we support.
Why is nutrition and hydration at work important for colleagues?
There is a proven link between food and mood; if we are hungry or dehydrated, it can affect us. We need to remind our colleagues that they also need to look after themselves and make sure they are eating well and are hydrated, no matter how busy the shift. They need to look after themselves for their own health and wellbeing, and to help them be ‘work ready’ to provide the very best care.
What is the British Dietetic Association (BDA) Work Ready Programme?
The Work Ready Programme is a BDA (British Association of Dietitians) programme. To deliver the programme in a place of work, the Dietitian (AKA me) needs to be an accredited Dietitian with a specific accreditation in delivering the programme. We set up an agreement with the BDA to use and adapt some of the resources of the Work Ready programme so they are suitable for use in our kind of environment, specifically for those working in an inpatient mental health service.
Why would the programme need to be adapted?
The programme isn’t just about delivering different ‘sessions’. For us, it was about looking at what the nutritional needs are for those working in an inpatient secure environment, and tailoring it. People work longer shifts in hospitals such as ours; some people work days, some people work nights. These can all impact people’s access to food and drink – if they bring it in, where would they store it? How do they access food throughout the day and night? How do they make sure they are getting enough drinks to remain hydrated? Is there a kitchen that staff can use on the ward, where they can make drinks for themselves, or should they bring their own bottle? Can that bottle be used and accessed safely on the ward? We needed to look at the journey of different colleagues and understand them.
How could those journeys differ?
For example, ward staff might be mostly on the ward, or some might be going out supporting people on Section 17 leave. If they’re out supporting people, when might they get a chance to eat and drink? Colleagues who are in security roles, catering colleagues, the administration team and the maintenance department – they all work in different ways and have different challenges when it comes to ensuring they are eating and drinking properly while at work.
How did the BDA Work Ready Programme tackle this?
We spent time understanding which topics would be interesting to them, such as eating in a sustainable way, eating on a budget, shift working, staying hydrated, food and mood and others. We then focused on those key topics in different sessions and ways. I also completed an assessment and report on access to food and drink at work and knowledge about hydration and nutrition, which helped me create a programme of activity to meet their needs.
What were the challenges?
As Thornford Park Hospital is a low and medium-secure hospital site, ways of communicating with colleagues can be a little reduced. People are not at computers all the time, for example, so just sending emails does not work. So I looked at different ways of communicating, visually and physically, as well as virtually, to make sure no one missed out.
What events and activities were held?
We had awareness days and activities, information available for people as they came through security, information on colleague message boards, information in ward pigeon holes, staff meetings, a dedicated intranet microsite specifically for Thornford Park Hospital staff, drop-ins and emails. We had a board specifically for the BDA Work Ready programme in the staff lounge, as well as handouts, leaflets and information on the intranet.
Every month, I held a session – one during the day and one in the evening, which was a drop-in. Each was focused on a topic. We also had intercom messages throughout the day for some of the awareness days.
We also created a map for patients and staff which showed where their nearest ‘hydration station’ is, and each member of staff, as they came into work, was given a bottle of water to raise awareness. We also held a lunchtime smoothie session to raise awareness that there are different ways to hydrate, alongside an interactive quiz. There were Mocktail Mondays, again showing there are different ways to hydrate and to try new things.
And what was the impact?
There was a greater awareness; we saw people carrying water bottles around. We’ve conducted a survey to see what has worked, and that will help us report on what we do next. We can’t rest on our laurels, though, and assume people know. The information forms part of the induction now, and we need to keep reminding people about the importance of nutrition and hydration and being Work Ready!