Staff from Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust opened their new rest area last week with a Mexican food festival.

The long-awaited staff rest area was completed earlier this month and provides teams based at the Michael Carlisle Centre in Nether Edge with a space to take a break from busy clinical wards and offices.

Teams at the Michael Carlisle Centre look after service users with mental health problems. They were treated to a free Mexican street food lunch of tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas to mark the official opening of the rest space.

Yasir Muneer, who has helped bring the staff rest area to life for teams at Michael Carlisle Centre said: “It became really evident during COVID-19 that NHS staff are at risk of burnout, and they need good spaces to spend their breaks where they can walk away from the clinical environment and recharge.

“The wellbeing of our staff is one of our top priorities, we used to have a canteen here at the Michael Carlisle Centre many years ago but it became clear it wasn’t really suited to how staff were leading their busy lives.

“The new area has communal fridges, facilities for warming up meals and a free supply of tea and coffee that’s always stocked up. The art on the walls has been specially chosen by art therapists to have a calm and cool feel to help our staff to relax. There’s even a TV to catch up on the news and comfy seating for resting weary feet inside or benches outside to enjoy the warmer days from."

Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust employs 3,000 staff across around 20 different sites in the city.