A new wellbeing centre has opened, offering a quiet oasis for health and social care staff.
Known as ‘Serenity’, the facility is located within the building housing the Gallery dining room at Irvine Central hospital, offering a place for staff to relax and take a much-need break.
Clinical and non-clinical staff from across the entire health and social care system are welcome to use this new space, which has two seating areas with comfortable chairs and sofas, a kitchenette with seating area, two consulting rooms and a garden area with outside seating.
Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, with staff able to have their breaks within the centre to allow time to stop, reflect and reconnect with themselves and colleagues, away from patients and the public.
A variety of supports are also available to staff via the Serenity centre, delivered by the Staff Wellbeing Services Team – a multi-disciplinary team that can provide links into staff care, spiritual care, psychology, psychiatry and peer support.
Support from the team is available by appointment on a self-referral basis for NHS-contracted NAHSCP staff. Appointments can be made by emailing StaffCare@aapct.scot.nhs.uk.
Council-contracted Partnership staff are encouraged to contact NAC’s own wellbeing or occupational health support mechanisms in the first instance, however staff from across our entire health and social care system are welcome at Serenity at any time during opening hours.
The Better Health Hub is also available on a drop-in basis to NHS-contracted Partnership staff on Tuesdays from 10am to 4pm at the centre, with the service offering a friendly and confidential place to ask questions and access support and information on a wide range of matters, including stress and healthy living, smoking, money worries, advice and signposting etc. For enquiries, or if you’d prefer to book an appointment time, email aa.UHB.BetterHealthHub@aapct.scot.nhs.uk or call 01563 825611.
NAC Health and Social Care staff can also access the Better Health Hub (by appointment only) using the contact details above.
Staff wellbeing centres were initially set up across NHS A&A sites during the Covid pandemic, using existing clinical and training areas that had temporarily closed due to the pandemic. The areas became safe havens for staff and served not only as somewhere for them to rest and reflect, but also to give access to a range of well-being services at a time when stress and anxiety was heightened and emotional, physical and mental support was vital.
NHS Ayrshire & Arran wants to ensure staff continue to have access to these essential spaces, with the new site at Ayrshire Central being just one of a number of new centres that have opened recently.
The Staff Wellbeing Services Team said: “We are committed to supporting staff with their emotional, physical and psychological well-being.
“The great benefit of our newly developed centre at Ayrshire Central Hospital is that it is a protected area providing all health and social care staff with a place to rest, stop and connect with each other, as well as being able to share their wellbeing concerns and support each other in improving health and wellbeing.
“We have noticed the positive effect that access to these areas has had, and the team looks forward to continuing to support staff on their wellbeing journey.”