THIS week we paid our last respects to our colleague Eleuterio “Boy” Gibela as his funeral cortege passed through Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Thank you to all the staff who paid their respects in such an honourable way to Boy who sadly died recently from Covid-19.
Thank you to all who helped make the cortege happen in such a dignified manner and helped show Boy’s family just how well thought of he was at the Trust.
Every organisation has a “feel’’ to it and the one thing I have always said about Blackpool is that it has the feeling of being one big family.
That family certainly came together as one on Monday to pay tribute to one of their own.
Looking after your own mental health
THE theme this year for the 2020 Mental Health Awareness Week is kindness. Kindness is really, really important – even more so now in this kind of strange, weird and unfamiliar world we find ourselves in and kindness has many, many benefits including: increased happiness, a healthier heart, better mood, better sleep.
I am sure you will have witnessed or played a part in an act of kindness during the last couple of months as these tough times have brought out the best in people. I have seen kindness in abundance over recent weeks and it really does make a massive difference. Kindness truly inspires kindness and that is why it is so important at work, at home and in our communities.
It also benefits your own mental health and the help of others around you. If you are finding things difficult at the moment – then that is totally understandable. We know a lot more about mental health now and we know the benefits of asking for support when we need it.
So my plea once again is – look after yourselves, look after your colleagues and look after your families. The Trust has a wide range of support systems available and please make sure you use them if you need to. Thanks once again to everyone for all you are doing. You are making a massive difference. We want staff to know that there is support for everyone who may be feeling anxious at this challenging time. An area on the Trust’s SharePoint site has been set up for staff to access information and resources related to health and wellbeing here: http://fcsp.xfyldecoast.nhs.uk/H/HealthandWellbeing/Pages/default.aspx