Introducing The Write Stuff

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s Health and Maternity (WhaM) programme is delighted to announce the first trans-Pennine, creative health maternity staff-focused initiative to address workforce wellbeing through writing.

The Write Stuff is a collaboration between NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Women’s Health and Maternity programme (WHaM), the WriteWell Community , Better Start Bradford and NHS England’s Personalised Care Group in Cheshire and Merseyside. This collaboration came about because of an annual joint Baby Week campaign which created a platform to focus on staff and patients’ wellbeing. Baby Week has one consistent message: healthcare staff with high levels of well-being provide better care for patients and people with higher levels of well-being are less likely to become sick. Baby Week 2022 will be delivered between 14-20 November.

Writing for well-being has a well-established research base that suggests the act of writing and the creative process itself can have both mental and physical benefits. "Writing about important personal experiences in an emotional way for as little as 15 minutes over the course of three days brings about improvements in mental and physical health” – James W. Pennebaker and Janel D. Seagal, Forming a Story: The Health Benefits of Narrative, 1999

This 6 month pilot will provide a FREE cultural prescription and pick me up starting in January 2023 for maternity teams across the North. It will provide a much needed creative outlet, encourage meaningful reflection, and provide distraction; whilst boosting coping strategies and building resilience at a time of unprecedented change.

Designed specifically to support maternity staff and promote well-being, the course's aim is to boost participants' personal development and build the foundations of healthy habits to protect their well-being over time. The pilot will be delivered predominantly online with some face-to-face elements. It will be supported by a number of key cultural partners with a focus on bringing staff together socially outside of work to build supportive networks and relationships with peers and their families. Above all else, it will give staff an essential tool, the power of words, to rediscover their purpose and validate their vocation through a core virtual programme designed specifically to work around work and with family commitments.

Why writing?

Because it is good for us, and it works. There is a clear body of research that shows expressive writing helps calm the mind and soothe emotions while increasing feelings of happiness and well-being. WriteWell encourages people to experiment with writing in a creative learning community, to increase positive feelings and find strength, resilience and calm.

Launched in February 2021, WriteWell helps people to begin to express their experiences and feelings within a safe and supportive community using key science-backed strategies. At WriteWell, all the materials are developed by therapeutic writing experts. WriteWell members are supported and guided by community tutors and experts to ultimately enjoy a space where members can share and interact with others.

Kate McBarron writing for well-being practitioner and tutor at WriteWell says, "Writing can be used in so many ways to support wellbeing. When facing life’s challenges, there can be something very healing about the process of “writing it out”. Putting our personal stories on the page, whether non-fiction or fiction, can offer new perspectives and understanding, and can even help us find a resolution. We can also gain a sense of connection, of being heard, when we share our words with a supportive group."

The Cheshire and Merseyside Women’s Health and Maternity programme (WHAM) Director, Catherine McClennan said, "It’s really important to ensure we support maternity staff to reconnect with their vocation and each other, to underline their sense of purpose and recognise what drives them. This is what will ultimately drive higher quality care and provide that virtuous circle which generates positive patient feedback and with this validation. It’s never just a job and it’s important to remind everyone of that."

Jo Ward NHS England’s North West Social Prescribing consultant adds, "This health and wellbeing pilot aims to develop a culture of well-being, where the maternity workforce feels supported and well at work. The ultimate objective is to understand how to promote health creation for our staff, not just disease management."

Alison Brown Lead Midwife Better Start Bradford said, "We are absolutely delighted to be working collaboratively with WHaM to address workforce needs together."