Memorial tree planted to honour healthcare workers

Healthcare workers who have died by suicide have been remembered by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust with the planting of a special memorial tree.

The tree-planting ceremony at University Hospital, Coventry, was part of the National Memorial Tree Campaign, led by the mental health charity Doctors in Distress. It highlighted the Trust’s continuing commitment to protecting the mental health and wellbeing of its staff.

Professor Andy Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of UHCW NHS Trust, joined Susannah Basile, Interim CEO of Doctors in Distress, to plant a red maple tree outside the Clinical Sciences Building.

Professor Hardy said: "When you hear the statistics that a doctor in the NHS dies by suicide every three weeks and a nurse in the NHS dies by suicide every week, this really brings home what our clinical colleagues are feeling day-in, day-out.

"This is a way to make us think more about what we as employers in the NHS can do to support people who find themselves in that terrifying situation where they may be considering suicide."

Doctors in Distress is an independent charity that provides peer support for all UK-based healthcare workers to promote and protect their mental health and prevent suicide. They are asking every hospital trust in the country to support their National Memorial Tree Campaign by planting a memorial tree. UHCW NHS Trust is the 21st trust in the country to plant a tree as part of the campaign.

Speaking at the ceremony at University Hospital, Susannah Basile said: “We all know the pressures that healthcare workers face on a daily basis so it’s imperative that we provide mental wellbeing support, not just for those who are feeling suicidal but right from the beginning of their career from junior team members to the most senior so we can help people process the emotional impact of their work.

“What you are doing here, and what is so important to do as an organisation, is to show people that it is OK to be human. Healthcare workers are not robots, they are not numbers, they are people with emotions and feelings who see really difficult things every day.”

Susannah also read out a poem written by a wellbeing champion for a similar ceremony:

We can learn a lot from trees.
Symbol of life, hope, joy, shelter, purpose and connection.
We come together here today, to pause, reset and remember, with a firm conviction of hope for the future.
But families are like the branches of a tree. They grow in different directions, yet the roots remain one.
Our roots, our vision, our purpose to help others through our values of Inspire: Appreciate and Care make us a unique family.
If you feel like you are losing everything, remember trees lose their leaves every year and they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.

Life is sometimes hard and not always fun
As the night brings the dark, the morning brings the sun.
But when life seems hard, and you’re in distress,
Reach out for support, it may help you de stress.
As trees teach us when they weather the storm
That bright days are still to come, you’ll be back on form
Hang in there now, and you will soon see
The peace, hope and shelter, just as this tree

(Osman Dar)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tree planting ceremony was also attended by chief officers from UHCW NHS Trust; Jerry Gould, Vice Chair of the Trust Board; Consultant Endocrinologist Tim Robbins, who is Guardian of Safe Working at the Trust; Chief Registrars Dr Zehra Irshad and Dr Jay Darley; and Consultant Anaesthetists Ramesh Sadasivan and Antonia Mayell who are actively supporting and fundraising for the charity.

The Patron of Doctors in Distress is BAFTA winner Adam Kay, former NHS doctor and bestselling author of This is Going to Hurt. He said: "The first step in solving a problem must be in admitting that the problem exists, and this is something I tried to highlight in the BBC adaptation of my book.

“The series culminated in the death by suicide of a doctor called Shruti, a fictional character based on so many tragic stories. In the show, a tree was planted in her memory, which has led to trees being planted in real-life hospitals to commemorate lost colleagues. I'm very proud to support Doctors in Distress in raising awareness of this vital issue and protecting the mental health of healthcare workers."

You can learn more about Doctors in Distress and the National Memorial Tree Campaign at: Home - Doctors in Distress - Support For Healthcare Workers