NHS calls in Optima-life to develop a resilient workforce

Optima-life has been delivering a series of workshops across the North West to NHS Trusts helping staff to become more resilient. Working on behalf of the North West Leadership Academy, Optima-life’s CEO Simon Shepard has been encouraging NHS employees to take ownership of their health.

In total, 12 NHS organisations sent clinical and non-clinical staff to attend the one-day workshops, run across the North West from Chester to Warrington to Liverpool. The workshop is the start of a process of six steps to influencing positive change.

“Our Perform @ Your Peak workshops aim to take staff from being engaged with their health, resilience and purpose to taking ownership,” says Shepard. “It is not designed to be a fluffy workshop, it is reflective and challenging. It’s a real catalyst to making a positive change to lifestyle.

“It’s not what they thought it would be. One doctor’s feedback form stated that he thought the workshop would be a load of rubbish, but that in fact it had been really helpful.  We are sympathetic and empathetic with the challenges people have with working in a high-pressure environment. We support people at every step – this is not just a wellbeing programme, it’s an holistic look at how everyone can make changes to improve the way they perform.”

Following the workshops, staff undertake lifestyle monitoring that provides an objective and personalised view on how the body is functioning, coping and recovering. Individuals receive a feedback session from the Optima-life team, then are sent support materials over a period of 14 weeks to encourage positive health and performance behaviours.

Feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive – with workshop attendees feeling they have gained a valuable insight into recovery and resilience and 100% of participants feeling their colleagues should go through the programme.