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The resources on this web page include past webinars on: What is appreciative inquiry? Appreciative conversations The 5D cycle SOAR analysis.

The benefits of team events like briefs and huddles are documented. Briefs, or briefings, are planning events that occur before a case (for example, in the operating room), a shift, a procedure, a day in the clinic/office, or before an intervention. The brief allows the team leader to explain what is going to happen, cover pertinent contingencies, get input from each member of the team (including the patient), and ensure that each team member knows his or her roles and responsibilities. Huddles are team events for problem solving and updating the plan. Anyone can call for a huddle to deal with new issues, added complexities, unusual circumstances, or any need to adapt the earlier plan. Huddles occur frequently throughout the health care system and many times throughout the day. Briefs and huddles can be used in virtually any health care venue. The Briefs and huddles toolkit contains everything you need to implement briefs and huddles in your health care organisation. The toolkit includes: Toolkit overview Toolkit user guide Briefs and huddles facilitation guide Briefs and huddles facilitation slides Handout Briefs and huddles quick review Additional resources Action planning guide Toolkit evaluation form.

Key findings These findings are from a survey to UK doctors which closed on 18 June 2020. Over 45% of hospital doctors and just over half of GPs say they are not very or not at all confident of their ability to manage a second peak of COVID-19. 80% of hospital doctors have seen some increase in the levels of demand with a fifth experiencing levels back a pre-March level. Over a quarter of GPs and 33% of hospital doctors who consider themselves to be suffering from depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, emotional distress or another mental health condition, say it is worse during the pandemic than before. 81% of GPs have been asked to carry out new investigations and manage ongoing care that would normally have been done in hospitals.

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It has now been over 70 days since lockdown. Yes, the restrictions are easing – and this is great news for people who have been isolated for so long, it is great for the economy – but we are waiting for the second wave. My last blog spoke about how we are going to get back to ‘normal work’ and my anxieties about how we were going to do this. Slowly, we have been trying to get back to some kind of normal, but it feels confusing, slow and uncertain. None of us can see the ‘end’. None of us knows what the ‘end’ will look like, when it will happen or will even know when it happens. Remembering the early days of lockdown, the streets were empty, the roads were quiet, there were huge queues for food, and everyone seemed scared. It was a little like the post-apocalyptic film '28 Days Later'. We have all had our highs and lows: the NHS clap every Thursday, rainbows in windows, connecting with family, being furloughed, has meant some people have enjoyed lockdown. The flip side is that for some it has been a living nightmare: money worries, domestic violence, child abuse, operations cancelled and bereavements. Unlike the film that lasts 113 minutes, has a set plot that it follows and ends up with them being rescued, we are still stuck 70 days plus in and there seems no hope of a rescue. Real life does not offer us closure, does not always have a happy ending and, unlike dramas on the BBC, life is not always fair. I’m not even sure we are in the middle, which makes me feel even more helpless. I have been nursing for over 20 years. I have loved working with patients; I have even loved working in the institution that is the NHS. The politics, the hierarchy, the culture, yes, it's difficult work trying to negotiate around obstacles and blockers, but we do it and, weirdly enough, enjoy it. But this pandemic is different. In all honesty, I can’t do this anymore. Work was hard enough, but now it’s even harder. Knowing how to care for patients safely in the right area, wearing PPE all day, not being able to communicate properly through the masks, and having procedure and policy changing weekly, sometimes daily, is wearing. I feel like a new starter every day, especially after days off. I’m tired of it and can’t see an end. Due to this lack of enthusiasm, I feel I am failing at giving the care I want to, failing to give patients the care they deserve. This feeling is horrible. What kind of a nurse are you if you have ‘run out of care’? I know this is burnout. I didn’t want it to be. But it is. In January, I didn’t feel like this. This burnout has been because of the pandemic. I am interested to find out why now? I can’t be burnt out from a few months of difficult working conditions, can I? While looking into this and trying to make sense of my feeling, I came across Kanter’s Law. Rosabeth Kanter is a Harvard Business School Professor and according to her “in the middle, everything looks like a failure". Everyone feels motivated by the beginnings and obviously we love happy endings, but it is in the middle where the hard work happens. She states that in the middle, we all have doubts. This feeling is principally produced because important changes are not developed the way we would like it to, lineal and smooth. The changes that remain usually involve two steps forward and one step back. This is evident when we are trying to get back to ‘business as usual’ but new cases of the virus are detected and we can’t proceed as we thought. In addition, it’s easy to feel that when we are in the middle we are very far away from the expectations we had made. Unexpected events take place as well as deviations. What it had been estimated in regard to the need of resources appear to not be enough. It is then when despondency appears. We can’t plan, we can’t mitigate risks effectively, which often leads us into failure. This is why it’s important to fully understand that failure is a necessary part of change, because there will be periods of confusion in which the temptation to abandon will be great. I’m at the abandon bit! This work is difficult. I am not in the position where I can make big changes in my Trust. I must trust that others are making good decisions and they will support us if things don’t go as expected. Call to action I can’t be the only person feeling this now. What are Trusts doing to guide staff through uncertainty, prevent burnout and inform staff of plans for the future?

The importance of good mental health and wellbeing in the workplace is a subject of increased public awareness and governmental attention. The Department of Health advises that one in four people will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives. Although a number of recent developments and initiatives have raised the profile of this crucial issue, employers are experiencing challenges in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of their employees. Mental Health & Wellbeing in the Workplace contains expert guidance for improving mental health and supporting those experiencing mental ill health. This comprehensive book addresses the range of issues surrounding mental health and wellbeing in work environments – providing all involved with informative and practical assistance. Authors Gill Hasson and Donna Butler examine changing workplace environment for improved wellbeing, shifting employer and employee attitudes on mental health, possible solutions to current and future challenges and more. Detailed, real-world case studies illustrate a variety of associated concerns from both employer and employee perspectives. This important guide: Explains why understanding mental health important and its impact on businesses and employees. Discusses why and how to promote mental health in the workplace and the importance of having an effective ‘wellbeing strategy’. Provides guidance on managing staff experiencing mental ill health. Addresses dealing with employee stress and anxiety. Features resources for further support if experiencing mental health issues.

This video is the first on several that have been shared in a series of tools and techniques to help you and allow you to help others.

It's free, it's quick and it's easy. Connect on Zoom, Skype or FaceTime with a qualified psychologist, psychotherapist or counsellor at a time that suits you: confidential supportive non-judgemental accepting calming.