Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust is offering psychological support to health and care staff across the North East and Cumbria.
As part of the Trust’s efforts to help employees cope during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new confidential helpline has been set up which will provide anonymous access to a psychological therapist. This is available for staff in care homes and NHS staff outside of the Trust.
A therapist can offer a listening ear and signpost to further support if necessary. Staff who call the helpline will be directed to a psychological therapist or if there is no one available at that time the call handler will take your number and you will be allocated a time slot for a therapist to call you back.
The service is completely confidential and notes from conversations will not be kept. The calls are a time for staff to talk informally about things that matter to them in a safe and supportive environment.
This may be a difficult time for staff, we are going through a situation we never have before, and the therapist’s role is to listen.
The helpline is one of a number of ways staff can access support. The Trust’s YouTube channel also posts regular wellbeing livecasts covering a different theme each week.
There is also psychological first aid training, which includes trauma-informed psychological wellness training programme incorporating moral distress or injury and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) issues, and support to implement facilitated reflective team sessions for staff. These are both available to staff in leadership and management roles.
The helpline is available for staff Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays on 0191 223 2030.