The Home Managers at two of Excelcare’s London care homes have joined together to support team members with ‘Talk-Talk Surgeries’.
Gemma Weldon, Home Manager of Park Avenue Care Home and Aditee Naik, Home Manager of Peartree Care Home have decided to start welfare surgeries to create a safe space for team members to discuss whatever they want with a trusted team member who can offer support and guidance.
The first of these sessions took place yesterday on Thursday 11th December, with Gemma visiting Peartree to talk to the members of the team. Posters were placed around the home ahead of the day, encouraging team members to get involved.
The posters clarified that team members didn’t even need to talk if they wished; they could simply share a cup of tea and a joke to unwind. However, if they did want to discuss their worries, the Home Managers were available to listen to any work related matters that are troubling them, any personal matters they are struggling with, any good news they may want to share, or anything else on their mind.
Emotion cards were available as discussion points for the sessions, and team members were also offered paints, in case they wanted to express their emotions through art therapy. During the sessions, resources were also distributed to enable recognition of stress, discover distinctions between helpful and unhelpful coping strategies and set up weekly wellbeing check-ups going forward.