Rest, Rehydrate, Refuel

As part of this campaign, we are encouraging health and social care managers to ensure that staff are taking their at-work breaks, are well hydrated and have access to nutritional food. We are also encouraging nursing staff to self-care and assert their right to a break.

The resources are currently under review and will be published in the coming months.  You can also download posters to support and promote the campaign at your workplace.

Read our case studies to find out how RCN reps and members have used Rest, Rehydrate, Refuel resources to make change in their organisations and improve their working environments.

"I love being an RCN steward and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me doing this role. I love campaigning too and one of my favourites is the RCN’s 3Rs campaign.

At the moment, I’m trying to get our infection control team here to come on board and develop a standard operating procedure, which will allow each area of the hospitals and those working in the community in Forth Valley to have their own hydration stations. I really want us to do this and I’m hopeful we can.

Part of the campaign includes delivering a presentation to band 5 and band 6 nurses telling them what we’re trying to achieve. It’s gone down a storm. Everywhere I go I also give out ‘pee cards’. These are a really easy way of checking whether you’re hydrated or not, judging by the colour of your pee - the darker it is, the more dehydrated you are and vice versa.

I’m also reminding staff to take their breaks, asking each other whether they’ve had a break as yet. When I speak to nursing staff and ask them, ‘are you looking after yourself’, it’s another nurse asking whether they’re okay - and that’s a lovely thing to do. There’s something very powerful about being a nurse and talking to other nurses. I can identify with what’s happening in their world and we can have an open conversation.

On Nurses’ Day in 2019, I had all of the RCN 3Rs campaign resources out on the table and spoke to as many nursing staff as I could. A few months later, I visited a hospital department and one of the nurses there remembered talking to me. She said, ‘come and see what we’ve done’ and then showed me their hydration station. I’d given them posters and some information and they’d read all that and then implemented something for themselves.

The fact is I’ve not achieved something for them - they’ve done it for themselves and they own it. I was just a small piece of that jigsaw, giving them tools to create something applicable in their area. That sense of accomplishment is very important. Other staff will also see what they’ve achieved and think they can do it too. It was so wonderful to see what they’d done and the difference it has made to staff. We can’t stop there.

Campaigning is a bit like continually climbing a mountain. You just have to carry on going. Persistence is key. A smile and a chat go a long way. You also have to keep getting your foot in the door, wedging it a little wider each time.

Of all the RCN’s campaigns, this one is very close to my heart. I know what it’s like not to get a break or be able to get a drink. If we can just make it that little bit better it would be fantastic."

"When I get home from work, my eight-year-old son often asks how my shift was and whether I managed to have a break. It’s a reminder of the challenges we’re all facing at work, with shortages of staff and always being extremely busy making it harder to prioritise your own wellbeing.

As part of a development course I was doing with colleagues, we had to initiate a project. We decided we wanted to do something to help everyone look after themselves better. We always offer patients a drink, but often we don’t think about it ourselves. Some staff were also under the misapprehension that they couldn’t drink water at work, but that’s just not true. We know that dehydration can really impact someone’s health, including causing headaches, so it’s really important to find the time to take a drink.

‘Think 2 Drink’ launched in April 2019. To make it easier for staff to access fresh water, we set up convenient but discrete hydration stations on every ward and department, giving everyone a free re-usable water bottle, which includes space to write their name. The bottles can be stored easily at the stations, making them easy to grab, even when shifts are very busy.

Although I’ve been an RCN member since 2005, I’ve never really been active before, although I do try and keep up to date with what’s happening. I thought it was worth contacting the RCN to see if they could support us in any way. Our local office was delighted to be approached for help. Our idea tied in with the RCN’s national ‘Rest, refuel, rehydrate’ campaign, but we have given it a local twist. We were able to use some of the RCN leaflets to promote the concepts, alongside posters in all the staff toilets, encouraging people to check the colour of their urine to see if they might be dehydrated. It’s very simple, but effective.

Local RCN reps also helped to promote the campaign, making it a big success. I feel it is helping staff to feel better and boosting their morale. Reminders about rehydrating have been especially important during the heatwave this summer. Overall, I think the campaign is helping to reduce staff sickness.

I think it’s helped nursing staff throughout the trust engage more with the RCN too, reinforcing the idea that the organisation is trying to help staff look after their own health, so they can take better care of their patients. As a nurse, it’s easy to forget your own wellbeing. I’m so happy we did it, as it’s had such a positive impact on everyone, throughout the Trust."