We thank over 100 NHS staff with FREE YOLO Wellbeing Experience

The staff within the NHS are amazing on a normal day, but throughout the last eighteen months their superhero status has reached new heights.

But it has taken its toll. We wanted to recognise their courage and commitment to keeping us safe and helping us recover by treating them to the YOLO Experience. So in May through to July 2021 we delivered 120 free YOLO Experiences to frontline NHS staff across hospital trusts in Lancashire, Manchester, and Liverpool.

The YOLO Experience is designed to help improve physical and mental stress. It allows staff to take 20 minutes away from the workplace to relax and receive a therapeutic head, neck and shoulder massage in a mobile, sensory, calm space which we take to the work premises.

Our business launched in 2019, and was shut down for most of the pandemic, founder Cheryle Britton comments, “Initially, I was devastated by the impact COVID had on the business but seeing what NHS staff and other frontline workers were dealing with I quickly realised how lucky we were and that I wanted to do something to help.

“It has been really rewarding to be able to give something back to staff at the NHS, they do a fantastic job, in what have been very difficult circumstances. The YOLO Experience is designed to help boost morale whilst offering some relief from physical and mental stress so it’s great to hear the staff say they’ve benefited from their experience.”

In feedback captured after their appointments, NHS staff across all three trusts commented that the experience improved their mood and boosted their energy levels; 76% claimed that it helped reduce their stress levels; and 96% said they felt their performance improved following their YOLO Experience.

The impact of COVID on the NHS in the region has put considerable pressure on staff. NHS absences in the North West is 1% higher (5.3%) than the national average, 4.3%. Anxiety, stress, and depression are the most common, consistently reported reasons for absence, followed by musculoskeletal injury.

Jane Mullin, Deputy Director of Workforce and Innovation at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool, said: “YOLO Wellbeing was just what the staff at The Walton Centre needed. The past year (and a bit) has been tough for a lot of staff, and they have really missed the health & wellbeing activities the trust normally supports.  YOLO Wellbeing was easy to organise, the 20-minute sessions were perfect for staff and by the end of the day we had a waiting list so could have repeated the day all over again.”

We continue to support NHS Staff, donating a free appointment for each full day booked by our clients. We hope to deliver over 250 appointments in 2022.