Skilled students on hand with massages and haircuts for hard-working hospital staff

SKILLED students were on hand to give hard-working health staff some much needed respite.

A group of learners from Coleg Cambria Yale provided complementary wellbeing treatments for clinicians, medical students, and administrative workers in the Medical and Dental Education Department at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, including haircuts and back and scalp massages.

Cambria’s Hair and Beauty Commercial Manager Sarah Edwards joined the 12-strong cohort for the community event, designed to give NHS employees a well-deserved break and support their health and wellbeing.

“Our Level 2 and Level 3 Hair and Beauty learners did an amazing job, it was a fantastic day, and we were so proud to be there,” she said.

“The sessions were very popular and warmly received by everyone at the hospital, which was heartening, so we will be returning regularly to continue this partnership.

“The college is always looking at new ways to work with organisations in our community so we will be looking to forge similar links in the future.”

Sarah added: “It was also a chance for our students to develop important practical and employability skills in a real-time setting, rather than a classroom environment.

“They are in their first year so there was pressure, especially given the challenges of the pandemic, but they all dealt with that brilliantly.

“We thank Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and all of the staff for the warm welcome and allowing us to be there and look forward to returning next year.”

Andrea Taylor-Clutton, Medical and Dental Education Manager at Wrexham Maelor Hospital said: “The health and wellbeing of our clinicians, students and administrative staff is extremely important to the Medical and Dental Education Department.

“We were therefore delighted to team up with Coleg Cambria Yale to provide our colleagues with a Health and Wellbeing Relaxation Day.

“A variety of wellbeing treatments were provided by the college’s expert staff and students and the day was hugely popular, everyone involved worked extremely hard to make sure our colleagues received an excellent and professional relaxation experience – the feedback has been outstanding.”

She added: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Cambria and Karen Jones, our Health and Wellbeing Coordinator, for their tremendous hard work in making the day a success. We look forward to this partnership continuing.”