Laurie Temple leading an NHS staff well-being workshop

Stress management training films for NHS staff

For the past year Laurie Temple, who lives in Hastings, has been delivering stress management and mindfulness training workshops for the East Sussex NHS department of well-being for staff.  He is now about to make a series of related training films for NHS staff, and has launched a crowdfunding appeal to help finance them. HOT’s Paul Way-Rider reports.

A comprehensive NHS staff survey published  last year and reported in The Guardian has found that increasing numbers of doctors, nurses and other personnel feel disillusioned and are working unpaid overtime, and many are thinking of quitting.

The survey, covering over 200 NHS trusts and questioning almost half a million NHS employees, the largest of its kind for many years, found that two in five staff members reported being sick from stress, the highest number in five years.
It found that more than 58% of staff were working unpaid overtime and that 78% felt under unrealistic time pressures, with 28% of respondents suffering from chronic back problems as a result of their work.

Graphic from Laurie’s promotional video

Professor John Appleby , the chief economist for the Nuffield Trust think-tank, said, “After years of holding up against all the odds, the survey’s figures confirm an alarming downturn in the well-being of hard-working NHS staff.”

John Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said, “Underfunding, cuts and staff shortages have piled huge pressure on NHS staff, pushing them to feel completely burnt-out and exhausted.”

As a result of these findings, the NHS have created a ‘long-term plan’, which includes creating ‘well-being’ departments for staff.

Laurie Temple

Laurie, who has been delivering stress management and mindfulness training workshops for the East Sussex NHS, has over 30 years’ experience as a stress management consultant, delivering therapeutic exercises, breath work and mindfulness techniques. He is also the director of RhythmWise community interest company.

Jeanette Williams

The feedback from the workshops, conducted at the Conquest and Eastbourne District, has been “quite amazing“, according to the director of the programme, Jeanette Williams.

All of the participants have asked for regular courses to be instated and Jeanette has asked Laurie if he can provide a series of training films, especially suitable for frontline doctors and nurses, who have not had the time to attend the workshops. The films will also be made available for all staff for use at work and at home.

In order to finance the making of the videos, Laurie has launched a crowdfunding project. East Sussex County Council have already offered a £1,000 award for the project if this is matched by £1,000 of donations. Laurie is hoping to raise a total of £5,000, to cover just the basic costs of making a minimum of 10 training films.
He will be working with local filmmaker Jake Burnett, who has already made successful films for the NHS.

You can find out more about the project on Laurie Temple’s Facebook page, by going to RhythmWise NHS project.

The link for the crowdfunding page to make donations and find out more about the project is here.

If anyone would like to help with social media and marketing, please contact Laurie, via email: ldtemple12@gmail.com.

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