Flourish at Newcastle Hospitals > Flourish Key Themes > Staying Well > Health and Wellbeing > Mental Wellbeing

Mental Wellbeing

Around 1 in 4 people experience poor mental health each year, so most of us will know someone who has struggled with this. Here at Newcastle Hospitals we encourage staff to talk openly around mental health and to reach out for support whenever it is needed.

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Mental wellbeing can be affected by the experience colleagues have in their workplace.

We know that factors such as workplace loneliness, stress and management styles can all impact how you feel. People should never suffer in silence – we want our staff to know about the support and resources available if they ever need it.

Occupational Health

Our Occupational Health Service offers a range of support options for staff experiencing common mental health problems, including access to counselling and psychological therapies.

They provide a range of support to NHS staff and other partners: from expert consultation on occupational health issues, to physiotherapy, counselling, and clinical psychology services.

Occupational Health

Chaplaincy Service

Our Chaplains work as part of the team caring for patients, carers and staff to provide emotional, psychological and spiritual support.

Being in a hospital environment as a patient or a member of staff may unearth deep seated feelings and emotions within us all, which is normal and natural.

The Chaplaincy team includes trained Mental Health First Aiders. They work closely with the Occupational Health Department, Staff Side and the Staff Networks.

Helping Hands

Our Chaplaincy team has recently launched Helping Hands, a project funded by Newcastle Hospitals Charities to provide dedicated welfare support and advice to staff. 

To get in touch with a member of our chaplaincy staff you can:

  • Ask a member of staff to contact them on your behalf.
  • Contact the on-call Chaplain yourself directly on 0191 244 8129 (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm).
  • Ask our Switchboard staff on 0191 233 6161 to telephone the on-call Chaplain for you (nights and weekends).
  • Email [email protected] (non urgent only)
Find out more about our Chaplaincy Service

Quiet spaces

Staff, patients and visitors can use the quiet spaces as a calming de-stressing/prayer space. Faith ritual resources (prayer mats; scared texts; prayers etc.) will be available for those who want them.

These are spaces for everyone to use. Please use these spaces with respect for the breadth of beliefs people hold.

Mental Health First Aiders

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course, designed to teach people how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis.

We have a number of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) available in most Directorates. They can provide immediate support to staff and are able to guide colleagues to other support mechanisms.

You can find a full list of mental health first aiders on the Trust intranet site. Please contact Health and Safety on 29147 or 48084 if you have any questions about MHFAs in your area.

More information on Mental Health First Aiders

Togetherall

Togetherall is a 24/7/365, anonymous, online mental health and wellbeing service freely available to all Newcastle Hospitals staff.

Members can join their community anonymously for support with a wide range of mental health and wellbeing issues, from anxiety, depression, and isolation, to relationship issues and lifestyle challenges.

Togetherall

Partner organisations

We work with a number of partner organisations to help support our staff, they include:

Resources

Please visit our resources section for information and support on how to make positive improvements to mental wellbeing in the workplace, this includes: