Occupational Therapists Delivering Schwartz rounds to improve Staff Health and Wellbeing at work Jennifer Chouchelamane - Jennifer.chouchelamane@wales.nhs.uk Why should Occupational Therapists get involved? Experience in physical and mental health workplace environments and an understanding of the demands on their staff Experience of multidisciplinary working with a range of health and social care staff Appreciation of the importance that our working roles have on our overall wellbeing *Arguably the greatest resource that health and social care systems have is their staff. When staff feel supported in the care they are offering, the benefits extend beyond those felt by staff but extend further to patients and to the organisation as a whole Point of Care foundation (2013) What are Schwartz rounds?  *Founded by Kenneth Schwartz, a healthcare lawyer in America who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. What mattered most to him as a patient was compassionate care He noted the emotional demands of the job caregivers have in a challenging healthcare system. He founded Schwartz rounds as forums where healthcare providers could come together to discuss the emotional impact of their roles and support each other. Schwartz rounds at ABMU Health board Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMUHB) introduced Schwartz rounds due to challenges faced by NHS staff which can in turn affect patient experience Goodrich (2012) found that staff attending rounds reported decreased feelings of stress and improved team working ABMUHB was the first organisation to launch Schwartz rounds in Wales and since 2014 rounds have been delivered with themes such as; ‘When a team pulls together’ ‘Difficult decision making’ ‘When the personal and the professional collide’ Challenges Encouraging attendance at rounds across all health board sites to enable a variety of people attend to ensure rich discussion Finding panellists to share their stories Fitting it all in – balancing the ‘day job’ with being a facilitator Logistics - organising venues, arranging facilitators and clinical leads to deliver sessions across 4 main hospital sites Managing expectations of the audience and keeping discussion away from problem solving Capturing evaluation data to ensure the rounds continue Next steps Creation of new marketing materials Consider carrying out ‘pop up rounds’ in departments where attendance is difficult due to staffing levels Delivering Schwartz rounds Delivered by 2 trained facilitators and a clinical lead trained by The Point of Care Foundation 6 facilitators and 3 clinical leads; 3 consultants, 1 clinical psychologist, 1 practice nurse educator, 2 learning and development officers and 1 OT Roles To find panellists to share their stories for rounds To prepare the panellists To facilitate discussion during the round and steer conversation away from problem solving To capture feedback and demographic Information on evaluation forms 90% Agreed that they gained knowledge that will help them work better with colleagues 90% Gained knowledge that will help them care for their patients The round *Open to all health board staff members 1 hour in length, lunch is provided 2-4 panellists speak for 5 minutes each to share their stories Discussion is opened out to the wider audience to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences as evoked by the stories shared by the panel Clinical lead ‘sums up’ themes of the round Audience invited to complete evaluation forms 90% Would recommend the rounds 98% Rated the round as good, excellent or exceptional Evaluation and feedback (from 2016 rounds) Job title of those attending rounds “Excellent insight into MDT’s experiences- very beneficial in improving patient care” “Discussions were interesting, honest, heart warming and sometimes humorous. Very insightful and thought provoking” “Fantastic eye opener to the challenges encountered by colleagues” References The Point of Care Foundation (2013). Setting up and running Schwartz Center Rounds. London: Longridge Print. Goodrich J. (2012) Supporting hospital staff to provide compassionate care: Do Schwartz Centre Rounds work in English hospitals? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2012: 105: 117-122