Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust had a vision to create a space with 24/7 availability to all staff, which would be technology-enabled, provide space for rest and relaxation as well as formal and informal meetings, and would include a gymnasium and a healthy food and beverage offer.
The manifestation of this vision was the Health and Wellbeing Centre, developed at the Trust’s specialist emergency care hospital at Cramlington, Northumberland. Although the new centre is based at Cramlington, the vision was designed on a ‘hub and spoke’ model to deliver wellbeing support to a larger proportion of staff at the Trust by also upgrading and improving facilities at other sites. Some aspects of this strategy were fairly conventional, such as the physical gym, others, such as the biking strategy and virtual activity classes were more innovative. Furthermore, the hub and spokes are networked together to create a more holistic offering.
Before
The one restaurant at the Cramlington site had often struggled for capacity. Furthermore, as a facility that was shared between staff and visitors, it did not always provide the most suitable environment for staff to relax. Meeting room space, with suitable technology for staff to participate in Teams meetings was also in short supply. The annual Staff Experience Survey, carried out in 2020, identified that only 54% of staff felt that they had access to a space at work for reflecting and sharing ideas with colleagues. The same survey also highlighted that staff felt there were no areas they could use on site without patients or visitors being present and they therefore found it hard to enjoy their rest periods.
Another survey aimed to understand physical activity by staff group, including the issues and perceived barriers to a more active lifestyle, how much they spend on local wellbeing and fitness activities, what makes them engage with fitness and wellbeing facilities and what the preferred options were, including food and refreshment. The survey was developed in collaboration with the Health and Wellbeing Team and revealed that the majority of staff wanted more affordable facilities with easier access and extended opening hours.
Outcome
The space identified for the new Health and Wellbeing Centre at Cramlington was large, open and well lit, with good views to the outside. The facility was designed in segments, with a variety of seating areas, comprising traditional bistro/café-style tables and chairs, booths, pods, sofas and armchairs as well as ‘touch-down’ workspaces featuring high/low level bench style seating. These seating areas are complemented by a number of separate bookable, meeting/conference spaces, ranging from formal seating to one-to-one sofa arrangements. A specific treatment room, appropriately fitted-out, was also allocated for staff physiotherapy appointments, which is worked via the Trust Occupational Health Team.
The Centre has eight meeting rooms of varying sizes, all of them equipped with up-to-date IT equipment, OLED screens and other essentials, to facilitate meetings and video conferencing. Two additional ‘pods’ are available for staff to book which provide a less formal work or meeting space, as well as a modern, fully equipped IT suite. A large investment in desktop PCs has been made as part of this project, and these are available for staff to use within the Centre.
WiFi connectivity has traditionally been poor on site, posing a number of problems for staff, so the installation of dedicated WiFi was a welcome addition.
To complement the Centre, staff indicated they would like a different, more healthy food offer, something quite unlike the standard hospital restaurant would serve. Northumbria entered into a partnership with a local, healthy food provider, whose focus is on ‘free-from’ menus, encouraging staff to eat more ‘real’ as opposed to processed or refined food, to eat for nourishment with regular, balanced meals and healthy, nourishing snacks, and to eat more plant-based foods. All food is responsibly sourced, free range and from only grass-fed livestock.
It was important that the area to exercise was presented as a wellness space as opposed to a conventional gym. The provision is open to the entire workforce, providing a more accessible offer for those already active but specifically seeking to engage and support those staff who are less active and as such have the greatest capacity to benefit.
The gym area has been located to provide the capacity for potential future development, for instance a swimming pool can be accommodated if required. It has been designed to create a consistent wellbeing experience, with the gym area promoted as a natural part of the overall space to ensure engagement. It also provides wellness assessment zones for individual assessment of BMI, visceral fat levels, muscle mass and hydration. There is the potential to establish wellness zones at all sites to increase access. Live and on-demand classes are available, catering for all fitness levels, that can be accessed by anyone, free of charge, at home or in a physical space. A branded and free Wellness App monitors progress and feedback, with additional features including a virtual coffee after class, and the ability to log external activity. It may also be used for bespoke internal challenges such as ‘couch to 5K’. Regular sessions with a qualified instructor on site are available for inductions.
The Health and Wellbeing Centre officially opened in late 2021, with the addition of an outdoor area in Spring 2022, comprising two seating areas accessible from the restaurant. Simply-designed sheltered seating can be fixed in place and used all year round, whilst the inclusion of movable seating provides an additional meeting space that can be removed during the winter months if necessary and stored. The further creation of a marked walking route around the site – to include wildlife areas and green space - enables staff to enjoy the outdoors whilst having a break from the indoors.
The Health and Wellbeing Centre is believed to be the first of its kind within the heart of an NHS emergency hospital. To complete the project involved representation from a wide range of stakeholders, including Learning & Development, Health & Wellbeing, Estates & Facilities, staff representatives and finance.
Staff from all services and business units can be seen using the Centre at all times of the day and night, for meetings and formal discussions, lunches and ‘getting away from it all’ time.
This project was nominated for a 2022 HEFMA award. It won the Wellbeing Category in IHEEM’s 2022 Awards and is a finalist in the IWFM Impact Awards Wellbeing Initiative for 2022.
