The author of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse has given staff at North Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust a boost.
Charlie Mackesy sent two prints of his work to the trust to support its staff wellbeing programme.
His illustrated bestseller has been given out to acute inpatient and community teams by the trust’s health psychology service, to support the wellbeing of staff who have experienced a range of emotions during the coronavirus pandemic.
The prints were donated by Mr Mackesy in recognition of the extraordinary work the NHS staff have done during the crisis, after the health psychology team praised his work on Twitter.
Dr Louise Harrold, a senior clinical psychologist with the team said, “During the pandemic, the health psychology team put one of Charlie Mackesy’s books on many of the hospital wards and community bases with a note to say they hope it brings some comfort, and offers hope and inspiration during these challenging times. It certainly appears to have had a significant impact on our staff.
“We also put up some of the prints on the staff noticeboards, to help staff to feel they are not alone in their struggles, and what they may be experiencing is ‘normal’ under very adverse circumstances.
“We encouraged staff to seek additional support through our staff wellbeing network, as well as attending the drop in sessions we were providing on the COVID and non-COVID wards.”
Deputy sister Fiona McNaughton from Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, said: “We hadn’t heard about Charlie Mackesy before but everyone knows that we lost a colleague from COVID and Louise brought the book up as part of the healing process.
“Everyone thinks it’s fabulous and we can all relate to being either the boy, the fox, the horse or the mole. It’s given people support and made them feel important and loved really.”
