Circle of Care

“Just Doing our Job” 

Below is a brief summary of how staff pulled together to go the extra mile to support each other during the challenging times faced with Covid while saying they were “just doing their job”

This has been written though the eyes of Leigh Whitnall one of the Clinical Psychologist who, along with her team, supported staff and patients. Working across Lanarkshire Leigh witnessed commitment and dedication from staff across various settings.

“I’ve spoken to staff who provided staff support on the ground. In looking for a ‘story’ to demonstrate how we pulled together and stories of humanity. In trying to do so it was clear there isn’t a substantive story about one member of staff. But there are many, many, stories of small acts of kindness and compassion that symbolised the commitment NHS staff had for providing support to each other, regardless of their profession, job role and indeed even their deployed role.

They’ve went above and beyond consistently during Covid. What we are very aware of is the significant number of staff who have worked more hours than they were meant to, reached out more than they were required to, and provided resources beyond their remit to ensure staff had their basic needs met and psychological first aid whenever this was required.

I was aware of a member of staff support who took a colleagues washing home as her washing machine broke down, a 72 year old health care assistant who continued to provide care to COVID positive patients, a member of staff support buying food and refreshments for a rest area out of their own money for staff who may need refuelling before we had the funding processes in place.

Staff who provided staff support in the acute areas did so voluntarily, changed shifts from Monday to Friday working to doing shifts at the weekend, and changed their day to day professional practice to a completely new role. The staff involved did so with enthusiasm, drive, dedication and with complete care to their colleagues. They always went the extra mile - psychologists going in to acute wards over Easter weekend because of Covid mortalities to provide support to staff, the domestic making sure the psychologist had a ‘wee sandwich’ during their shift, the nurses making sure the patients were cared for. It was a circle of care - everyone cared for each other on the ground.

Above the ground I’ve observed numerous departments come together to develop area wide services for staff support, with public health, health promotion, mental health and organisational development across health and social care in a time frame unimaginable. They’ve shown only professionalism and a commitment to work together, despite what pressures these posts can bring during a global pandemic. They’ve listened, consulted, contained and represented the humanity our staff have required throughout Covid and ensured services to support staff have been available at the right time, in the right way, by the right people”.