HAMPSHIRE Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs hospitals in Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester, celebrated the 70th birthday of the NHS by hosting a staff focus week.

It was a whole week of activities dedicated to celebrating, thanking and recognising staff for all for the wonderful contributions they make to supporting our patients, visitors and colleagues each and every day.

The staff focus week kicked off last Monday with ‘It’s Time to Talk’ – a conference for Trust staff to highlight the importance of looking after emotional and mental health, to draw links between staff well-being and capacity to deliver compassionate care, and to chip away at the stigma surrounding emotional and mental health that prevents people nationwide from talking about it.

More than 100 members of staff took part in workshops and heard keynote speakers address the topic of mental health.

GP and TV Presenter Dr Hilary Jones delivered the opening address of the conference, saying: “I’m delighted to be involved in this conference at my previous GP stomping ground and to support all the brilliant work Hampshire Hospitals is doing.

“With two out of every five GP consultations now concerned with mental health issues it is more vital than ever that we raise awareness of, provide help for and further de-stigmatise the psychological problems of modern life.”

Alex Whitfield, chief executive of Hampshire Hospitals, added: “Hosting this conference is incredibly important and is just one of the ways we support our staff at the Trust, both professionally and personally. We are committed to continuing these conversations throughout the year and were thrilled to welcome Dr Hilary Jones (pictured) and others to our conference to help start this conversation with our staff.

“Our staff focus week wa a great way to recognise, thank and celebrate not only our wonderful staff, but the wider National Health Service, and I’m pleased to see so many members of our team got involved.”