Health bosses were today accused of wasting taxpayers’ money as it emerged that medics were being invited to a week-long ‘well-being festival’.
NHS staff in East Anglia can attend a range of virtual classes from Monday.
Some are designed to promote well-being by offering stressed-out employees “compassionate spaces.”
One of them with the strange title “what if we were a salmon?” aimed at helping workers who feel they are “swimming stubbornly against the tide”.
Other sessions include a ‘boys club’ for men confused about menopause, ‘dynamic breath work’ and classes with former TV fitness guru Mr Motivator.
But government sources have slammed the series of events as “misguided nonsense”, saying it was evidence that the NHS was “completely out of tune”.
Critics said the event “couldn’t have come at a worse time”, with the health service grappling with multiple crises, including a backlog of appointments, deadly ambulance delays and problems accessing GPs and dentists.
NHS East of England staff are being invited to a virtual session at the Wellbeing Festival from Monday next week where they will be asked: ‘What if we were a salmon?’ (on the left). Other classes include a “boys club” for men confused about menopause (right), “dynamic breathing” and forums on “emotional freedom”.
Officials said the move would help workers who feel they are “struggling to swim against the tide” (pictured is newly appointed Health Minister Theresa Coffey)
But government sources have slammed the proposed “misguided nonsense”, including sessions with former TV fitness guru Mr Motivator (pictured)
The Prosperity Festival, as it has been dubbed, has renamed its salmon session “resilience under pressure”.
But NHS psychological support service Here For You, which advertises events in Essex and Hertfordshire, still lists it under its original name.
Its description reads: “This interactive support session will ask the question, what if we were Salmon?”
“Do you ever feel like you are swimming against the current, wishing you could reach calmer waters?
“During this time we will explore together how it can be, how we can get there and offer you the opportunity to share what you feel now.”
Meanwhile, a ‘boys club’ session on menopause is aimed at men who ‘want to help but don’t know how’. It is designed to help male staff support the people in their lives who are going through ‘change’.
All sessions are free for NHS medical and nursing staff and it is unclear how many will attend or how much the events will cost overall.
The forums will take place during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, but it is not yet clear whether staff will have to take time off to host them.
This was reported by a source in the government Daily Telegraph: “Such inane nonsense is further proof that the NHS is completely out of business.
“While ordinary Brits worry about what winter will bring, NHS managers are spending money to rot.
“The new health secretary must be happy to sharpen the ax to cut such waste and focus the NHS on looking after people who need it.”
And a medical professional described the incident as “simply outrageous”, questioning why money was being spent on TV personalities like Mr Motivatar.
The fitness instructor – real name Derrick Evans – was awarded an MBE earlier this year after rising to fame in the 1990s on GMTV.
Danielle Boxall, from pressure group the Taxpayers’ Alliance, told MailOnline: ‘Taxpayers expect NHS Trusts to focus on health care rather than spending time on welfare seminars.
“While patients face severe delays in appointments and operations, NHS middle managers are busy organizing a progressive program of lectures and events.
“NHS chiefs must put an end to such waste and get back to tackling the huge health backlog.”
Figures from NHS England show that 6.8 million patients were on the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in July, the equivalent of one in eight people. Almost 380,000 have been waiting for more than a year
A&E figures show three in 10 Britons had to wait more than four hours in A&E in August, while almost 1,000 waited 12 hours a day
Ambulance response times increased slightly in August, but the time it took paramedics to arrive at the scene was still well above target
NHS England figures showed that the waiting list for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements rose to a record 6.8 million in July.
Backlog reached record highs before Covid. But the pandemic and the effects of the lockdown have caused queues to soar even further.
Meanwhile, patients were even waiting 40 hours to be taken to hospital due to horrendous ambulance delays.
Heart attack and stroke patients have to wait an hour on average for a vehicle to arrive, more than triple the 18-minute target, according to the latest NHS figures.
At the same time, patients complain that it is difficult for them to contact both a therapist and a dentist.
A spokesman for NHS East of England said: “This regional event has been designed to offer NHS staff help with finances and the cost of living, as well as with post-pandemic fatigue, so they can better focus on patient care.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to dailymail.co.uk
