Thanks to a wave of inspiring initiatives, a staff support group has undergone a total transformation and seen its membership quadruple.
With bold steps to encourage connection, inclusivity and learning, the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) Disability and Carers Staff Network has evolved from a modest membership of 29 to a flourishing support group of 114.
The growth is thanks to a passionate group of colleagues who were not only determined to save it from the brink, but also wanted to make sure it was a place of belonging, care and empowerment.
Improvements made to the network have included encouraging colleagues to share their experiences, setting up a buddy scheme and holding social events.
Other changes have included:
- a new breakfast club
- a network newsletter
- an online noticeboard
- regular spotlight sessions on subjects including young carers, dementia and Makaton (a communication system which uses signs and symbols)
- a new MS Teams channel for members, where they can find helpful resources and recordings of spotlight sessions
- an MS teams chat, which includes a ‘wall of joy’ where members post fun things
- making sure everyone has the chance to give their input.
In addition, the group is holding a series of sessions about mental health, has put together a guide for colleagues on how to organise successful and inclusive events (with input from the trust’s Neurodiversity Network) and run an anonymous survey asking how the group could work better. Future plans include music and art therapy sessions and creating training courses.
The work has been led by Health Inequalities and Partnerships Manager Helen Merrick, the group’s new chair, supported by a team of colleagues who are equally as passionate about providing a safe space where people can be open and feel included.
Helen said: “It really has been a huge team effort to get it to where it is today.”
Tracy Daniels a team administrator for Sevenoaks Health Visiting, said being a member of the network has had a “huge impact” on her working life. Tracy has central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) and more than 10 years ago she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and received surgery. The treatment caused trauma to the brain and chronic fatigue, brain fog, headaches, nausea, problems with concentration and working memory, as well as making the CAPD worse.
Tracy said: “Being part of this group has helped me accept my disabilities and learn that it is perfectly acceptable to embrace work in a slightly different way to get the best from myself. Being able to share my experiences with others who are non-judgemental in a safe space has given me the confidence to approach and resolve adjustments and understanding of my condition, my limitations and my strengths within the work place. It has also enabled me to support others going through similar struggles.
“The network has highlighted and enabled changes to the working environment and acceptance of working with a disability and the strengths this can bring to a team.”
Recently the network was successful in pressing for changes to the way carer’s leave can be taken at the trust. One colleague said: “The network provided support with my suggestion of getting disability and carers’ leave changed so that it can be used in hour increments. It means that appointments are less disruptive to my working day as I can just take the time I need. This helps my service as minimal cover is required.”
The network helps make colleagues more aware of support available, often through its regular spotlight sessions, which have previously focussed on reasonable adjustments and hidden disabilities.
Another colleague said: “Carers leave has made a huge difference to me at work. I had been having to use nearly all of my annual leave to take my son to appointments. I was so tired and never felt rested. I can now use my annual leave to take proper breaks and spend quality time with my son.”
The support group was at the forefront of a recent workplace adjustments campaign run at the trust, where colleagues shared their personal stories.
A former chair asked Helen if she would take over the group, when she was no longer able to run it herself. Helen said: “I had re-joined the trust during the pandemic and had one day in the office before working from home. I didn’t know people. My husband had recently been admitted to hospital and had nearly died, so was shielding. He needed a lot of support from me emotionally and physically. It was incredibly stressful.
“A few months later one of my best friends then died unexpectedly. The network was there for me. Our former chair gave me information about trust offers, introduced me to colleagues who I still speak to now, who have that deeper understanding around the difficulties of balancing work and caring and helped me to appreciate the contribution I brought to the trust.
“She approached me about stepping in, but honestly, I didn’t want to take it on for fear of potentially ruining what she had built. We were without a chair and meetings for several months and when I was told that the network might close, I knew I couldn’t let that happen.”
Helen is proud of the network and grateful to colleagues who have helped make changes, knowing it makes such a difference to working lives. She said: “For one of the spotlight sessions we had a whole team attend as they wanted to know more about how to support their colleague with the condition that the session was about. The colleague said that she felt seen for the first time working here.”
Helen used a quality improvement (QI) approach to make changes to the group, starting off with wanting to better align the network to KCHFT’s values of being compassionate, aspirational, responsive and excellent. Small changes were then made one at a time, to see if they made a difference. The overall aim of the network is to help make sure all colleagues who have a disability, long-term health condition or provide care for a relative or loved one, have a positive and inclusive working life experience.
Other colleagues have welcomed changes to the network. They have commented that it is ‘a supportive, safe space’, with one saying the new look network is ‘amazing, supportive informative, with Teams chat I feel I can obtain support at any time.’
KCHFT colleagues can find out more about the network on the trust intranet.
