COLLEAGUES from two VetPartners practices joined forces to arrange a wellness day to support team members with their mental and physical wellbeing.
Receptionists, vets, vet nurses, practice managers and support team colleagues from Stanley House Vets in Colne, Burnley and Barnoldswick in Lancashire, and Ashlands Vets, which has practices in Ilkley, Skipton and Glusburn in Yorkshire, attended the one-day event to learn more about mental health and wellbeing.
Among the activities were a high-energy fitness class with spin bikes and an introduction to yoga and meditation.
They were also shown how to make delicious protein pancakes, and there were talks and workshops to encourage everyone to get thinking about different approaches to maintaining a positive wellbeing.
Hosted at the KL Health Hub in Barnoldswick, the event was organised by veterinary nurses Georgia Brayshaw and Joe Bromfield, who work at Stanley House Vets, and it was funded by VetPartners.
Georgia, who is the wellbeing champion at Stanley House Vets, said: “Working in veterinary care can be really demanding as it’s fast paced, and we are often dealing with quite challenging situations.
“We wanted to organise something that would have a diverse appeal and get colleagues thinking about mental health and the variety of things we can do to help keep our minds happy and healthy from both a mental and physical point of view. We also thought it’d be a great chance to get to know colleagues from another VetPartners practice, so we extended the invitation to Ashlands Vets too.
“I’d attended a similar event previously at the KL Health Hub. The event made me reflect on how good exercise is for the brain, not just the body. It inspired me to come up with the idea of organising an event for colleagues which would explore a more holistic approach to wellbeing, incorporating exercise, our mindset and thinking techniques as well as the food choices we make.
“I’m really proud of how successful the event was which colleagues got to attend for free thanks to VetPartners, and we can’t wait to plan more wellness events.”
Lauren Jolley, a vet at Stanley House Vets, was one of the colleagues who attended the event.
Lauren said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the wellness event provided by Stanley House and VetPartners.
“It’s sometimes easy to overlook the importance of prioritising your wellbeing especially in a busy industry such as the veterinary profession.
“I found the event extremely valuable and came away from it with lots of ideas to put into place that will benefit me both professionally as a vet, and in my personal life too.”
Stanley House Vets are putting wellbeing at the forefront of their practice.
They provided mental health first aid training last year, and also formed a wellbeing group which meets regularly to reflect on areas to improve in the practice as well as organising team events designed to boost staff morale.
Joe Bromfield helped organise the event alongside Georgia.
He said: “The wellbeing group meet every two months to discuss anything wellbeing related, which not only enables us to continuously grow as a team but also the happier and healthier we all are, the better quality of care we can provide for clients and patients too.”
VetPartners is committed to ensuring that the wellbeing of our colleagues is at the heart of everything we do, and funding wellness events is one of we ways we support colleagues across our practices and animal healthcare businesses.
Article written by Rachel Neill, PR & Communications Executive. Email rachel.neill@vetpartners.co.uk