LIKE every retired rugby league player, Paul Wood is no stranger to the work of the National Health Service.
Sixteen years as a front rower in the world’s toughest team sport came at some cost to the former Warrington prop, who experienced more than his fair share of war wounds in the field of sporting combat.
Four years after finally hanging up his boots after a short spell with Swinton, the two-time Challenge Cup winner is once again engaging with the NHS on a weekly basis, but this time in a way that could not be more different.
In 2020, Wood joined Rugby League Cares in a full-time capacity after the charity were impressed by his contribution delivering their mental fitness programme, Offload. He is now programme manager for a groundbreaking programme that is seeing rugby league stars support the NHS heroes who have been at the frontline of the battle against Covid-19 over the last two years.
Since its launch in October 2021, ‘Rugby League Cares for NHS’ has set out to keep NHS staff happy, healthy, productive and engaged at work, and in their home lives, at a time when they have been under greater pressure than ever before.
The programme was initially commissioned by three NHS trusts as a pilot which proved to be so successful that Wood and his colleagues are now delivering to staff at eight trusts across the North West.
Given the vast experience of medical know-how within the NHS, it might seem surprising that doctors, nurses, ancillary staff, estates personnel and manager have anything to learn from professional rugby players like Wood, ex-Leigh, Halifax, Toronto and Ireland favourite Bob Beswick and current St Helens and England superstar Amy Hardcastle.
However the reality is that the staff at RL Cares are making a dramatic difference to the quality of life of NHS heroes of all ages, backgrounds and specialisms.
“It’s easy to assume that because they are working in the medical profession, NHS staff possess all the knowledge they need to look after themselves,” said Wood.
“They are all under so much pressure and stress, and spend so much of their working day focusing on improving the health of patients, that their own wellbeing often ends up being put on the backburner.
“RL Cares for NHS aims to remind them how important it is to look after themselves. The biggest cause of absenteeism within the NHS is stress, so we try to give them tools and techniques they can use to become, and stay, healthy.
“Two key areas we have identified are sleep and nutrition, both of which go hand in hand. Stress can lead people to make poor food choices, which in turn impacts on their ability to enjoy quality sleep. Not sleeping well add to stress levels and creates a vicious cycle that can be hard to get out of.”
Diet and sleep are areas that all professional rugby league players work on during their careers, as is working under pressure and finding coping mechanisms to manage stressful situations.
It is those learnings, allied to the clinically managed nature of the programme, that help make the team at RL Cares so successful at what they do.
As well as Wood, Beswick, Hardcastle and ex-Halifax star Damian Gibson, the RL Cares team features former Royal Marine Sam Laird, whose own lived experience within the Armed Forces complements the experiences of his colleagues.
“Sam brings a massive amount of experience to the team, as well as a slightly different perspective. Like all of us, he’s accustomed to working in an elite-level environment and understands the toll that can take on people.
“We all touch upon our own experiences and share them with the NHS staff but the key thing about the programme is that it’s based on proven clinical research.
“We don’t want people to come along just because they’ve been told: it’s all about education leading to transformation. The biggest changes come when people take away the learnings we share and apply them to their own lives.”
Wood concedes that when he first began delivering RL Cares for NHS, his perception of what the NHS did was somewhat naïve. A year on, he has learned much about the organisation but remains in awe of the work that goes on to keep the nation healthy.
“My view of the NHS has changed massively since I got involved,” he said. “I’ve always had a huge respect but working alongside the medical personnel, the managers, the directors and staff at every level it’s impossible not to be blown away by the passion and commitment they have for what they do.
“The biggest eye-opener for me is the never-ending nature of what goes on and the struggle everyone faces in meeting the expectations on the service, especially given how understaffed they all are. The NHS is short of staff in virtually every department and the work levels are crazy.
“It’s easy to see why so many people fall ill with stress and why staff retention is as difficult as it is.
“The most rewarding aspect of the RL Cares for NHS programme is the difference it’s making. The feedback we receive after every session is incredibly positive and we are constantly told that the teams we work with now have high levels of togetherness about them.
“NHS staff tell us they are better at coping with stress, that they are now looking out for each other more and that their lives feel more rewarding, both at work and at home.”
After each session, NHS staff are asked to submit anonymous reviews of their involvement in the programme: the work of RL Cares is currently seeing an approval rating of 87 per cent, which has both surprised and delighted NHS managers.
“We’re in a privileged position to be able to help and it’s very rewarding and uplifting to be involved with such a brilliant group of people,” added Wood. “We all owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our NHS heroes.”
