Media Release
Date: 16 April 2020
New 'wobble rooms' introduced for RUH staff
Staff working at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust can now visit one of several special quiet rooms if they are feeling overwhelmed and need some peace and quiet.
With workers at the hospital facing unprecedented challenges, the new rooms are already proving popular with staff that might be having 'a wobble' and need a moment to themselves.
The rooms have been introduced to provide staff with:
- A place they can go to take a pause and ground themselves if they are feeling overwhelmed
- A space to do some psychological first aid, such as mindful breathing
- Somewhere to have a drink, snack or a short rest
- Somewhere to make contact with the Pastoral Support team if they want to access more help
- A space which recognises that our mental health fluctuates and that sometimes we need to take a moment to look after ourselves
The wobble rooms can be found in the Incident Coordination Centre, Education Centre, the EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) offices and the RHNRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre.
The new rooms are in addition to spaces around the hospital that already exist for staff who need to take a few minutes to find some peace and quiet, including the Spiritual Care Centre and garden.
Sarah Shatwell, Head of Staff Counselling at the RUH, said: "Our staff are facing huge challenges at the current time and we're working hard to make sure we can support both their physical and mental wellbeing.
"The new wobble rooms are somewhere for staff to go if they need to take a moment to themselves and find some peace and quiet.
"All of the rooms have information about how to access further support including counselling, psychology support and support in relation to traumatic incidents. One has a laptop which can be used for video calls to the pastoral support team and another is located within the hospital's counselling service where a qualified therapist is present if needed.
"We recognise that our staff are facing unprecedented demands and we will continue to do all we can to ensure they have the support they need."