APTUK strongly believe that pharmacy technicians are more than just “numbers” in the workforce and need to be supported to take care of their wellbeing to support a good work-life balance and to enable them to perform as well as possible professionally.
Wellbeing Hub
When faced with the day-to-day pressures of work and home life it can be difficult to find time to focus on your own health and wellbeing. APTUK strongly believe that pharmacy technicians are more than just “numbers” in the workforce and need to be supported to take care of their wellbeing to support a good work-life balance and to enable them to perform as well as possible professionally.
Pharmacy is a pressured environment and high levels of accuracy and analysis of mistakes are fundamental to being a competent pharmacy professional, this can however make it difficult to “switch off”.
The following resources are designed to support you with self-care and building resilience.
Different activities will and won’t work for different people so take time to look at what is available and focus on what works for you, reading, art and crafts, social clubs and cooking can all be excellent ways to “switch off”.
Loneliness
For mental health awareness week in May 2022, the Mental Health Foundation set the theme as loneliness. The resources in this section are specific to the topic of lonliness.
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-with-loneliness-3144939 - coping strategies and link to podcast
https://www.blurtitout.org/2020/03/18/remote-working-definitive-guide/ - Self-care with remote working
https://www.blurtitout.org/2018/01/18/depression-activities-less-alone/ - Depression and loneliness, activities to support. Many of these activities are great to support with loneliness whether you do or don’t have depression.
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/tips-to-manage-loneliness/ - Loneliness explained and tips to manage.
https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/loneliness/ - lots of links to helplines, groups, and making social connections.
Thre is also a range of e-learning topics available at HEE elfh hub https://portal.e-lfh.org.uk/Search. These include:
- Loneliness and Social Isolation - This session has been developed for health and social care workforces addressing loneliness and social isolation.
- Loneliness and Social Isolation (PWP) -This programme contains various resources on the topics of loneliness and social isolation. The resources include evidence-based reports, guidance, factsheets, videos and local information on services to address loneliness and social isolation. It is helpful for anyone with an interest in understanding, preventing and addressing this social determinant of health.
- MindEd Improving Workforce Wellbeing, Resilience and Population Mental Health - This programme brings together MindEd sessions and resources from elsewhere to support workforce wellbeing, resilience and population mental health.
#LookingAfterYouToo #LookingAfterYourTeam and #LookingAfterYourCareer
NHSE/I have recently expanded upon their free health and wellbeing coaching offer, #LookingAfterYouToo, and #LookingAfterYourTeam to create a third initiative offering dedicated coaching designed to support you to take practical steps, take more control over your career direction and proacitvely advance it. #LookingAfterYourCareer
The Toolkit can be downloaded here
Within the toolkit you will find social media images, banners, bulletin copy, website copy and quotes from those who have used the service. We encourage you to share the materials on your websites, social media channels and in your networks and comms to members.
The service is available to all staff working in the delivery of primary care services, either employed by the NHS or working with an NHS funded employer delivering an NHS funded primary care contract. The coaches are highly skilled and experienced, and all coaching is free and confidential. The sessions are delivered virtually, preferably via a video platform, but telephone appointments are also available. Thousands of people have booked sessions and given positive feedback on their experience.
Mental Health Awareness Video
Jonny Benjamin MBE is an award-winning mental health campaigner, film producer, public speaker, writer and vlogger.
At the age of 20 he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar, and later began making films on YouTube about the condition that have been watched by millions of people. Jonny now speaks publicly about living with mental illness and has written articles and given various interviews on TV, Radio and in print around the world to help educate and break stigma. He has also produced and presented documentaries on BBC Three and Channel 4 on the subjects of mental health and suicide. You can read Jonny's bio on his website here
The video below has been created and sent by Jonny especially to APTUK for Mental Health awareness month. We are sharing this on our website for our members so that it is visible and supportive to our members all year round. This video from Jonny includes a visual and wonderfully presented description of mindfulness and it’s benefits to us all.
We hope you find this helpful and we thank Jonny for his time and contributions to APTUK with preparing this video.
Click here to view the video
Caroline Parsons, Hypnotherapist and Pharmacist shares CLANG – Five ways to Good Mental Health and Wellbeing
Nicola Arnold, Certified Life Coach and Pharmacy Technician has a selection of blogs with various hints and tips on self-care, self-worth and other mental health topics.
Wellbeing Podcast
APTUK caught up with Laura Buckley, PCN Pharmacist, Blogger and Author to discuss how writing and a love of reading help her to manage her health and wellbeing. Listen to the podcast here.
This Podcast lasts 20 minutes.
Click here to listen
Every Mind Matters - enables you to take a short quiz and get a mind plan with top tips just for you.
Mindfulness– is a calming practice of being fully awake in the present moment, focusing your awareness and accepting your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. If you have an NHS email address you can access the Headspace app for free too, if you are not an NHS employee more information about Headspace and a free trial can be accessed here. There is a Headspace series on Netflix which offers an introduction to meditation.
Working in pharmacy can cause stress and anxiety. The following resources provide practical tips for managing stress and anxiety:
10 stress busters
Stress Management
Breathing exercises to try when you feel anxious
Meditation may sound unusual or “out of your comfort zone” but guided meditation can help you to relax your body and reconnect. There are a lot of meditations freely available on-line, the following links have been recommended by mental health practitioner for use by APTUK members:
Body scan meditation for beginners (30 minutes)
Body scan meditation for better sleep (14 minutes)
Guided meditation – Jon Kabat Zinn (45 minutes)
10 minute full body scan meditation (10 minutes)
Body scan meditation (20 minutes)
Please note, the duration is the length of the track and you may need a few minutes to get comfortable and follow any guidance notes before getting started.
Exercise:
Regular exercise has many benefits for both physical and mental health.
A brisk 10 minute walk a day can help to build stamina, burn excess calories, contribute to heart health and contributes to the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise. Exercising can feel like a burden or something that you don’t have time for but a 10 minute brisk walk can be built into your daily routine, the following ideas may help:
If you use public transport get off a stop earlier and walk the last part of the journey to/from work
Take a lunch break and go for a walk in a local green space, getting away from your workplace will help you take a mental break and reduce the risk of errors
Some NHS Trusts and other employers can support employees to access cycle to work schemes which enable you to purchase or hire a bike at a reduced rate, many also provide discounted gym memberships.
Couch to 5k - provides advice and tips to help you improve your fitness as well as the beginner’s 9-week plan, working up to being able to run 5km, all in free downloadable app.
Healthly weight and diet
If you are feeling stressed or under pressure it can be easy to turn to fast food, sweet treats and alcohol for a quick boost. A healthy, balanced diet is important to help you feel and function at your best. The NHS has a variety of guidance on eating well.
Weight loss – you can download a free 12-week diet and exercise plan from the NHS which provides you with healthy food choices, weekly challenges and motivational hints and tips to achieve a safe weight loss target.
CPPE – has a resilience section on its website, including a resilience quiz. Visit these pages to find out more about why resilience is important as a pharmacy professional and how you can increase yours.
APTUK would like to thank Nicola, Enkindle Life Coaching and Caroline Parsons, Solution Focused Hypnotherapy for their support in developing the APTUK wellbeing hub.