East Coaching Team

East Coaching Team Covid Story: A coaching kindness group

Coping with Covid with Kindness

It has always been a privilege to lead the East Coaching Team at NHS 24 and even more so during the unprecedented times of Covid 19.  The adaptability and professionalism of this team is outstanding through their individual support for each other, wider colleagues, organisation and patients alike. 

As a team professionally and personally we have all had our ups and downs over the last 7 months but can always rely on each other’s compassion and drive to search for solutions.  The creation of our Coaching Kindness Group via a digital platform at a time when many team members were struggling with the balance of home life due to home schooling, family members working from home and caring for loved ones while delivering patient centred quality care to all those calling 111, was invaluable.  Our Team Manager described life like a see-saw while another team member said, “I couldn’t have got through those first few months without this group”. 

The rules were simple, no Covid 19 conversations and focus on simple acts of kindness and positivity.  We shared home schooling hints and tips, moments of family laughter and resources that were made available to us as Health and Social Care staff via the National Wellbeing Hub. These simple strategies that the Team valued were and continue to be central to our team working ethos.

In the words of one coach, “Covid 19 is not the only thing that is contagious. It’s the small things like a warm smile, a listening ear and some words of encouragement that make the difference.”

These small things drive the motivation and investment of all of us in the East Coaching Team, to continue to work collectively as a Coaching Team through compassionate leadership.