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.
In recent years, however, Wood’s involvement with the NHS has extended beyond treatment for high-speed impact trauma in a new role delivering a hugely successful whole-person wellbeing programme to clinical and non-clinical staff across the North West.
In 2020, Wood joined the charity Rugby League Cares in a full-time capacity as NHS Programme Wellbeing Manager, and over the last five years has delivered hundreds of group and one-to-one support sessions at trusts including Warrington and Halton; Mersey and West Lancashire; Liverpool University Hospitals; Bridgewater Community; Cheshire Wirral Partnership; The Walton Centre; and Liverpool Heart and Chest.
“It’s been an amazing experience for me and a real privilege to be able to make a dramatic difference to the quality of life of our NHS heroes of all ages, backgrounds and specialisms,” said Wood.
“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.
“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.
“This programme reminds 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 programme so successful
“All the sessions are evidence-based and led by researched best practice that aligns with NHS policies, ensuring relevance and impact,” added Wood.
“The feedback we receive speaks for itself: the programme really works, both for individuals and the teams they work in.”
In a recent survey of more than 5,000 NHS staff who had participated in the programme:
After staff at one Estate and Facilities team in the North West commissioned the RL Cares programme, the results were even more striking:
“The most rewarding aspect of the programme is the difference it’s making,” said Wood. 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.”
For more information about the NHS wellbeing programme, please contact community@rlcares.org.uk