With thanks to Captain Sir Tom Moore KGH are building an outdoor gym
Kettering General Hospital is to build an outdoor gym in its Pocket Park and continue with key staff support initiatives over the next year thanks to charity funds raised by Captain Sir Tom Moore.
So far KGH has received a total of £269,600 from NHS Charities Together. The funding has supported initiatives throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so in the year ahead
Initiatives supported have included:
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Plans to build an outdoor gym with 12 exercise stations in the hospital’s Pocket Park area – a great facility for both staff and members of the public who will be able to use it. This will be subject to Covid rules but is hoped the gym will be in place by late Summer using equipment supplied by local leisure company Wicksteed.
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Funding our #WeCare Café – which opened in April 2020 – and is safe place for staff to decompress and relax in their breaks. It has had more than 40,000 visits since its launch providing free teas and coffees and snacks:
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An Open Office Listening Service to provide immediate confidential support and signposting to relevant support services by staff – this service has had more than reached more than1,600 attendances since its launch in April 2020
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A new Out of Office Pastoral Care/Mindfulness Support where staff listeners visit those areas most affected by the pandemic and providing a ‘locally’ accessible listening service to staff in a similar way to the Open Office. This has involved more than 90 visits since its launch on June 28, 2020.
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The Trust has also received many thousands of meals through NHS Charities Together – the final 500 were delivered on March 31, 2021.
Jayne Chambers, who ran the Trust’s We Care service during the pandemic, said: “These services have provided critical to the support of our colleagues and we want to continue to provide and expand them.
“Over the last year we have supported staff through initiatives like the We Care Café, Open Office and Out of Office and the outdoor gym will be another great outlet for people’s stress, support physical fitness, and enhance physical and mental wellbeing.
“The demand from staff for psychological support is likely to increase as the long term impact of the pandemic is felt.”
Kettering General Hospital’s Acting Director of Human Resources, Paula Kirkpatrick, said: “We have been very grateful for all the support we have received during the pandemic both from our local community and organisations like NHS Charities Together.
“Captain Sir Tom Moore was an inspiration to the nation and his legacy has continued to help hospitals to cope with the pandemic and move on into the future.
“He has helped so many NHS staff, across the country, through his fundraising
“For us he has supported our fantastic We Care initiatives which have helped make life that bit easier for our teams during the pandemic.
“Next will the outdoor gym for both staff and the public which, subject to the Covid rules, could be open later this summer. It will be a great way to help our staff – and local people – to relax and stay fit and healthy.”
KGH has received funding from NHS Charities Together to maintain its We Care services for a further 12 months to 31 March 2022.
Its services will also be expanded to include more trauma management training, specialist support for more complex issues raised in Open Office and outreach services and increased Mindfulness provision to ward areas.
Ellie Orton, Chief Executive for NHS Charities Together, said: “Captain Sir Tom Moore was a complete inspiration to us all and his memory lives on through the incredible programmes NHS charities have been able to fund.
“Thanks to his efforts, funds have reached the length and breadth of the UK through every one of our 241 member charities, and they have made a huge difference on the ground, both to address the immediate needs of patients and staff and to support the longer-term recovery of the NHS.
“His legacy will live on through the work of the Captain Tom Foundation.”
Note: Two of the photos were taken before current mask wearing and social distancing guidance was in place.
The original images can be found in Issue 44 of KGH Together (Autumn 2020) on pages 3 and 9.