Honouring healthcare workers

A tree planting ceremony to honour healthcare workers across the country who have taken their own lives was held recently at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals, Chertsey. The Trust employs nearly 4,500 individual staff.

Brian Daniels, Pluto’s CEO and playwright, was present at the ceremony in his role as Ambassador of the charity ‘Doctors in Distress’ who initiated the National Memorial Tree Campaign. Brian has a longstanding relationship with the hospitals and felt a tree planting would further reinforce their commitment to the continuing well-being of staff.

“I am very pleased to be an Ambassador for Doctors in Distress and to have been present at the ceremony,” said Brian. “I have written a play, ‘Beneath The White Coat,’ inspired by a book by Dame Dr Clare Gerada with the same name. It’s about the terrible pressures that our healthcare workers endure that can lead some to take their own lives.

“The play is sponsored by the charity and was launched at the Royal College of General Practitioners and has been performed numerous times since. It shines a light on these pressures and can enable those in audiences to understand what might be happening to them but don’t know where to reach out to for help. The play provides a first step in that process.”

This message is reinforced by Amandip Sidhu, Founder of Doctors in Distress.
“My cardiologist brother died by suicide in 2018,” he said, “and so this is therefore a very emotive topic for me. Until the mental health and wellbeing of the healthcare workforce is prioritised by leaders at the highest level, the rate of burnout will continue to rise and, inevitably, so will the rate of suicide.”

“We would like every hospital trust in the country to support our campaign and plant a memorial tree,” explained Doctors in Distress’ Chief Executive, Ann Paul. “Together we can help to break down the stigma around mental health and help prevent further suicides.”

In photo below (left to right): Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital (ASPH) Medical Director Dr David Fluck; ‘Doctors in Distress’ (DiD) Chief Executive, Ann Paul; ASPH Interim Chief Nurse Ellen Bull; DiD Ambassador and CEO, Pluto Play Productions, Brian Daniels; DiD Founder and Trustee, Amandip Sidhu and ASPH Arts and Design Manager, Cat Cooke.