The service, launched in June, was designed to help Sodexo employees deal with the extra pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and to improve their quality of life.
The counselling trial was rolled out at several of Sodexo health contracts, mostly acute hospitals, university hospitals and hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
Stuart Winters, Sodexo healthcare UK & Ireland chief executive, said: “Our team has consistently performed their jobs at the highest level. We recognise the importance of supporting our healthcare workforce and helping to alleviate some of the pressure of working through a global pandemic.
“The counselling approach was developed by our learning and development team following a review into the global pandemic response of Sodexo and designed to compliment our existing range of health and wellbeing tools.”
The positive feedback included ‘it’s helped me take back control’, ‘I feel understood’ and ‘I can express my emotions’. The counselling sessions have been extended until April 2021 following their success.
Tracy Bullock, chief executive, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, added: “What greater thing can we do for the wellbeing of staff? I am wholly supportive of the service. For staff on the frontline to be able to speak to someone who is trained who can listen to them and support them is a phenomenal success.”
In December Public Sector Catering hosted a mental health and resilience webinar, which is available to watch here.