The ‘Heroes’ Lounge’ communal staff room was officially opened at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH), in February this year. The development of the room was made possible thanks to wonderfully kind community donations to the BSUH Charity ‘Help Our Hospitals Fight Covid-19’ campaign.
Since then, the staff room has proved a real hit with teams at the PRH. It provides staff with a comfortable, calm space to relax in with colleagues, and take a much deserved rest. We have received some lovely feedback from staff who have been able to make the most of the room. Matthew Stanbridge, Housekeeping Assistant at PRH said:
“Having a space that is dedicated to staff only is so important. It’s great to have a social area – social contact is really important, with everything going on. There are so many great people who work here and lots of friendly faces to meet and speak to at the lounge.”
We launched the Covid-19 campaign in March last year, so that the local community could show their support for #NHS staff across Brighton and Haywards Heath, as they battled against the devastating impact of the global pandemic. The decision to spend the money on a new staff room at PRH was taken following feedback in an annual health and well-being staff survey, which focused on how charitable donations could best be spent.
The room also plays host to a team from Project Wingman five days a week. Project Wingman is a charity run by airline pilots and crew, and they support front line workers over a cup of tea, sharing experiences of working in a high pressured environment.
“I am loving being able to go to the ‘Heroes’ Lounge’ and seeing the Project Wingman aircrew. I am finding I actually relax when I am in there…a rare event for me, as I always seem to be busy!”
Lisa Horribine, Data Entry and Clinical Coding Clerk at PRH
We continue to partner with the Health and Well-being team to improve staff welfare in both the short and longer term. Since the Covid-19’ campaign began, funding has also been used to support the ‘HELP’ staff counselling service, and the refurbishment of on-call rooms for staff staying away from home. A new staff room at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton will also be opening very soon… Watch this space!
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated.
To find out more about BSUH Charity visit: www.bsuh.nhs.uk/charity.
To donate and support the ‘Help BSUH Hospitals Fight Covid-19’ campaign, please visit: www.helpBSUHhospitals.org.uk
