Social Wellbeing is a measure of your interpersonal relationships.

Within the workplace, this relates to your sense of belonging, social inclusion and social stability within your teams. It’s about the way we communicate with one another, how we connect with our colleagues and how we feel valued at work.

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Information and Resources

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Trade Unions and Professional Bodies

Many Trade Unions and Professional Bodies are offering additional support resources and services at this time. Contact them to find out – what is available.

National

• Royal College of Nursing – 0345 772 6100
• Royal College of Midwives – 0300 303 0444
• Unite the Union – contact for Forth Valley is Sandy Smart, Regional Officer – 01315569676/07810157927
• UNISON – membershipassistancescotland@unison.co.uk
• British Dietetic Association – 0121 200 8080

Local

• Royal College of Nursing – Hilary Nelson – 07790930470
• UNISON – karren.morrison@nhs.scot, 01324567239
• British and Irish Orthoptic Society – Laura McCartney (Orthoptic Department, Falkirk Community Hospital)
• Society of Radiographers – aileen.graham@nhs.scot
• GMB – nicholas.hill@nhs.scot, 07554737972

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Library Wellbeing Lounge

The Library Lounge, situated within the Library at Forth Valley Royal Hospital, is our new chill-out zone, with comfy seating, fiction and wellbeing books, and activity books including crosswords and Sudoku. On the last Friday of each month, we’ll also have free tea/coffee and biscuits on offer for you to enjoy.

Open to all NHS Forth Valley staff and students on placement, we hope it will be a space where you can feel comfortable and can take a bit of time out to relax and unwind. Why not pop in for a visit to make use of the space? We’d love to see you there!

You will find the Library on Level 2 of Forth Valley Royal hospital, just above the Restaurant.

Find out more information on the staff intranet and get in touch with us by emailing fv.forthvalleylibraryservices@nhs.scot if you have any questions.

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Carer’s Wellbeing

Many of us are currently caring for a family member, friend or neighbour who needs some extra help. They might have an illness, disability, physical or mental health problem, or addiction. A carer does not need to be living with the person they care for.

Anybody can become a carer at any time in their life. Being a carer can impact your own health and wellbeing and it’s important to make sure you’re looking after yourself too.

The following are some resources and information that may be useful for you:

• Carers’ health and wellbeing | Care Information Scotland – Care Information Scotland (CIS) is a free phone, webchat and website service providing information about care services for people living in Scotland. They can offer health and wellbeing support to carers, in addition to advice about what help is available to you and the person you care for.
• Support for Unpaid Carers | NHS Inform – NHS Inform has a dedicated section about how best to look after yourself, whilst also caring for someone else. Being a carer can exist in many different formats, and ‘looking after’ can mean helping with things like shopping, domestic tasks, emotional assistance and personal care.
• What support is available for carers? | National Wellbeing Hub – numerous articles and sections relating to both paid and unpaid carers and can direct you to local support.
• Support for Carers | Health in Mind – a charity promoting positive mental health and wellbeing in Scotland by providing a wide range of services and courses to support people and enable them to make a positive difference in their lives. They have a section for carers, which includes free, online workshops and courses.
• Advice for Carers | Age UK – here you will find advice, signposting and short videos that may be helpful. They also have a section that focuses on providing Dementia Care and if this is useful, then the following may also be beneficial for you – Resources for carers | Alzheimer Scotland.

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Current Actions

1. Creating a sub-group of the Staff Support and Wellbeing Programme Group dedicated to looking at ways to improve social wellbeing across the organisation;
2. Looking to create guidance and support, including access to the endowment fund, to help groups within the organisation to get up and running;
3. Creating groups such as the Minority Ethnic Network and Equality and Diversity Network across the organisation to help promote and support equality and diversity across the organisation;
4. Creating additional training, support and development opportunities across the organisation, some specifically aimed at communication and social wellbeing;
5. Following on from the work of the Staff Conference to adopt a Compassionate Leadership approach across the organisation.

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