Stress-busting idea helps Forest Town care home staff cope with strain of pandemic

As part of Stress Awareness Month held during April the Red Oaks Care Community, on Clipstone Road West has launched a ‘well-being card’ scheme for its employees.

The initiative is designed to help and encourage care workers to adopt more positive habits of self-care every day. The home’s staff use the card to track the time spent on activities, over a 30 day period, that boost their own physical and mental health

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The care home has also sent out information on a range of activities that the staff can use to help boost their own sense of well being, such as yoga, stretching, breathing exercises, walking or just taking time out to read.

The idea follows the 12-month milestone of the pandemic, and aims to help combat increased stress levels of care workers. During the pandemic the home tragically lost ten residents to Covid 19.

Diane Watson, Red Oaks Care Community group care manager, said that the wellness card idea offered “a small act of kindness with big rewards."

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She said: “The pressures that have been placed on our teams during the last 12 months people have been tremendous.”

“So often, we’re left to ourselves to find ways and means of dealing with life’s everyday pressures. So this is our way of helping our team along a little, if they don’t naturally put themselves and their mental health first.”

“Inside and outside of work we want our people to invest in themselves and hope the wellness card be a little ‘accountability buddy’ that enables them to track their personal progress.

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"We know, from research, that it takes approximately a month for positive patterns to turn into positive habits. In addition, we have also sent out some stress busting resources they could plug into during a rest period at work or back at home.”

Red Homes, which runs Red Oaks, chief executive Roger Daniel recently paid tribute to the staff for their ‘exceptional’ efforts after an energy-sapping year.

Mr Daniel said they had worked "tirelessly, above and beyond’ the call of duty throughout the crisis.”