A team of specialist NHS nurses who support vulnerable children in the Manchester area took time out from their busy working lives to spend some wellbeing time with our resident herd.
Our sanctuary in Abbey Hey recently welcomed two groups of co-workers from the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust to get together and spend the day with our donkeys.
Seventeen specialist nurses from the Looked After Children’s Health Team spent the morning together in June, focusing on self-awareness, work-life balance, team values and participating in mindfulness activities.
The Specialist Nurses Team act as advocates for children and young people, providing healthcare needs advice and support. They work with partnering agencies to safeguard some of the most vulnerable children and young people in Manchester and Trafford.
For some, this was the second visit to the centre, and the message they had taken away from their previous visit in December last year was to ‘be more donkey’. They were really keen for their colleagues who were visiting for the first time to experience and understand why this had become a familiar phrase often heard by their colleagues since taking part in our Donkey Assisted Activities programme.
On arrival, the nurses had the opportunity to meet the Manchester team and hear about the work they do from Centre Manager Robina Melling and talk about what they hoped to gain from their session.
Robina said: “It was a real pleasure to welcome back so many familiar faces from the nurse’s team and exciting to see so many new ones who were eager to join the group and experience how to ‘be more donkey!’
“This really struck a chord with me, as I sat and listened to the team explaining to one another how it made them feel and what they took away from their last visit. The enthusiasm and understanding of this saying had clearly stuck with the group.”
Some of the nurses were interested to find out more about our programmes, so when referring a child or young person they could give a clear explanation of the programmes. For others, they were just looking forward to spending time with their colleagues away from their busy work schedules, getting to know one another better in nature among the donkeys.
The team then headed to the outside arena to be greeted by glorious sunshine. Some of the donkeys were enjoying a snooze on the warm sand, while others came straight over to meet them ahead of their mindfulness session, led by Robina and supported by her team.
Once the team had finished their mindfulness session they took shelter from the hot sun inside our indoor area along with three donkeys, Sam, Ocho and Henry.
The group spent time watching the donkeys interacting with one another, which led people to ask questions about their behaviour and how they might be feeling.
The team took part in the Values and Beliefs activity, which is designed to allow participants an opportunity to explore their personal and team values on a profound level. The team used this time to discuss and reflect on their choices, coming to the unanimous decision to carry six core values forward that they believed represented themselves and their job roles.
Robina added: “It felt very powerful watching how the donkeys mirrored the groups. Once the two teams had come to a mutual decision together, the three donkeys went from being on the periphery of the exercise to joining everyone and actively taking part.”
Samantha Walmsley, a Specialist Nurse with the group, said: “We all had a lovely day meeting and interacting with donkeys and ‘being donkey’ for a while. This is something we have taken back with us to the office and quote often among colleagues.
“The mindfulness and the interactive group work gave us the opportunity to think about ourselves and the work we do and highlighted the importance of looking after ourselves and others.”
As the session concluded, the group were joined by the donkeys as they gathered together to discuss their experiences. The phrase ‘be more donkey’ came up again, with several people remarking about being in the present, feelings of calmness and allowing themselves time to ‘just be’.