Devon Wellbeing Hub: What to expect in a wellbeing assessment

Posted by Devon Partnership Trust in Mental health, Recovery and wellbeing on 18th April, 2023

The Devon Wellbeing Hub is designed to be a single place where someone concerned about their wellbeing can come, unpick their needs and be supported to get to the right services quickly.

Colleagues working in healthcare, social care and the police can contact the Hub free by emailing dpt.devonwellbeing@nhs.net, calling 0300 303 5455 or filling in our simple online referral form.

Once you’ve been in touch, you will be offered a 1:1 telephone or video call for a wellbeing assessment appointment lasting around 45 minutes. You will speak with one of our qualified and understanding Colleague Wellbeing Practitioners who will compassionately listen to you about how you are feeling.

Together you’ll develop a Colleague Wellbeing Plan with your next steps. Your plan may include referring and signposting you to a wide range of services available to you across Devon, including services provided by your own employer, the NHS and other statutory services. You can view some of the services we use on our useful resources webpage.

It doesn’t matter whether your problem is related to work or about something else entirely. We won’t tell your employer that you’ve seen us unless you want us to.

If you choose, your Colleague Wellbeing Practitioner can help you draft a letter to your manager or another colleague. This is completely optional and what we include in this letter is up to you. For example, a letter may be your preferred way of letting your manager know you are struggling, or making some suggestions as to how you would like them to support you. Alternatively, you might prefer us to write a short letter letting your manager know that you’ve had an appointment with us but not go into any detail.

Natalie Canepa, Senior Colleague Wellbeing Practitioner, said: “We provide a safe and confidential space for you to voice your concerns, worries or any difficulties you have been facing and together we will put an action plan in place. This will include things that you want to make a start on, or change, and depending on your needs may consist of a referral to another organisation. By offering a supportive space, some colleagues have just benefited from having their feelings listened to and validated.

“You will be offered a follow up but it is not essential. We find this is helpful particularly when people feel they need a little more motivation to get things started. The session can be used to discuss progress and see if things have started to feel better.

“I would encourage people to get in touch with us at any point. Everything is relative and if it is impacting you and making things feel hard please do not hesitate to get in contact. The sooner you do it, the easier it is to help you to manage your difficulties and get you on the right track. Try not to wait until things are too tough, although we will still be here if you do find yourself in that situation.”

Get in touch:

Getting support from the Devon Wellbeing Hub is simple. If you work in healthcare, social care or the police and are struggling with any aspect of your wellbeing, or you lead a team who would benefit from support, the Hub can help you today. Please get in touch by emailing dpt.devonwellbeing@nhs.net or by calling 0300 303 5455. You can also fill out the referral form on the Devon Wellbeing Hub website