Recruitment
“Deborah has been working tirelessly as our Health and Well-being promotions Manager for over 10 years.
In this position she promotes and leads our team of Health and Well-being Champions and supports and inspires them to help all their colleagues at SouthEastern as well as local communities examples include fitness challenges, Mental Health support, dietary advice, women’s health etc. which are regularly communicated to all our colleagues.
Deborah also organises health fairs which are held at 12 different locations on our network which give colleagues the chance to meet with various health charities (for example the Samaritans) also to have a free health check and even a massage!
These fairs are well received and I remember that at one of these fairs one of our colleagues had the health check and discovered that their blood pressure was dangerously high and had to go to hospital so the fair was a potential lifesaver!
The Health and Well-being Initiative has gone from strength to strength and thanks to Deborah’s leadership this has contributed to recognition in the form of a gold award from Investors in People in Health and Well-being as well as the platinum and gold award for Well-being in Kent and Medway!
Deborah is passionate in this role and does so much to help others, another example concerned a colleague who had experienced a very traumatic event, as soon as Deborah was aware she took time out of her busy schedule to meet with the colleague to ensure they were fully supported which they were so grateful for.
Thank you for considering this nomination which I believe Deborah richly deserves.“
“Deborah Thomas runs the Health and Wellbeing programme at Southeastern Railway. Deborah is always so encouraging and supportive towards her colleagues.
Thanks to Deborah we have health and wellbeing machines at key locations that test people's blood pressure and give metabolic age as well as lots of other stats. The impact this has had is huge as people are now mindful of their health and quite a few have joined the Gym or started to live a healthier life.
Deborah is just an amazing person with a kind heart and the ability to get things done. We are blessed in Southeastern to have Deborah as our lead on Health and Wellbeing.“
“Deborah has been integral in setting up health fairs and mobile health checks which have positively impacted staff.“
“Deborah has been a keen advocate of health fairs and has managed to find things of interest even to someone like me who is always uncomfortable at such events. I know now that when an event is due I will be looking to book a couple of sessions“
“Her support for southeastern staff has been exceptional. The care consideration and thoughtfulness are outstanding. The enthusiasm for finding out about initiatives, contacting suppliers, and bringing them in has been superb. Making a real difference across the business and in contacting and working with Network Rail“
“Deborah has been in charge of Health and Wellbeing for a number of years now.
She has organised Health fairs at different locations so staff can have health checks and speak to professionals if they have any issues mentally and physically
Deborah is just an amazing person and always has time to talk to you if you have any issues“
“Deborah organises health and wellbeing fairs at as many Southeastern locations as possible. supporting staff and colleagues across the board.
she is a great source of information and help, and always willing to assist and support in any way she can.“
“Where to start, I would like to nominate Deborah Thomas from South-eastern railways for The Health and wellbeing award 2023.
Deborah is an exceptional employee and for last 10 plus years Deborah has worked tirelessly raising awareness and understanding of the importance of Health and Wellbeing in and outside of the company. Inspiring colleagues to participate in yearly Health fairs, yoga, walking challenges, healthy eating (fruit baskets, breakfast morning, summertime food days) even cycling with a juice maker attached as a creative inspiration to enjoy your daily 5 a day to name but a few.
Deborah is the most approachable individuals with a welcoming Florence Nightingale face always providing a supportive ear, no problem or issue is dismissed or shrugged off but greeted with a smile and a willingness to provide advice or add to a every growing list to see through to completion offering support were possible or along professional in that field.
Each year brings its own challenges keeping staff motivated and inspired to attend and run these health fairs (even enticing attendances with promise of a box of fresh fruit) Deborah Is always juggling outside support within South-eastern station areas initiating theme events - Suicide awareness, mental health days are common in identified high risk areas for passengers and station staff to pop in for a chat and get advice on support.
Alongside the ad hoc events, in order to deliver a minimum of 12 Health fairs a year across the whole South-eastern network Deborah works diligently with several exterior health promotors to make this insightful day memorable with the likes of Macmillan cancer support, Brighton wellbeing company, Medigold health, Back in Action, The Samaritans, Stroke Association, Careers first, Salary finance, Prostate cancer, The Transport benevolent fund, The Railway Chaplin to name but a few.
Deborah has recognised that these events can’t run without the support of Champions and has long fought for recognition for all of their hard work always hoping that they will one day win Gold but until then she provides fortnightly catch ups for the team to share best practice and any news on upcoming events or training.
Moving with times and looking to capture a broader audience Deborah has moved online with Webinars and making use of Teams covering topics on Finance, promoting Able futures, and linking a simple tool kit, which includes additional advice and information on how to support your employees/apprentices struggling with mental health problems. Live chats on the benefits of healthy eating, exercise and sleeping.
Finally let’s not forget the launch of the walking challenges encouraging staff to collaborate and motivate each other on the benefits of walking for better mental and physical health with a surprise gift for the overall winner/winners these are run as a singular effort and later as teams.
Putting Deborah forward for this award would just cement all the hard work that she has dedicated to South-eastern Passengers, Staff, and the Business over the last decade.“
“I would like to nominate Deborah as she is amazingly kind, supportive, a great listener and always there for us no matter what she maybe going through herself. She always keeps us updated on all health and wellbeing programmes, new health initiatives, and events and encourages us to be the best we can be!
Recently Deborah worked on a joint initiative relating to World Suicide Prevention Day with the Safeguarding, Health & Wellbeing teams, Trauma Risk Management colleagues, Railway Mission Chaplain, Samaritans, BTP, Network Rail and North Kent Mind Charity to raise awareness around suicide and to empower our colleagues to create hope through action. These important events were held at one of our stations for passengers and colleagues to talk about actions we can take to help someone considering taking their own life. They also offered advice and information to people who have experienced suicide and there was a special online live session organised for colleagues. Deborah is very good at bringing people together, she always is present at any of our health and wellbeing events and she has built trusting and solid relationships with her Health promoters. I truly hope Deborah receives the recognition she undoubtedly deserves.“
“Deborah is truly committed to health and wellbeing and is passionate about partnership working and stakeholder engagement. She is always committed to working jointly on wellbeing days. She is innovative and creative and has introduced a number of new initiatives in relation to wellbeing at Southeastern. Deborah is always positive and looks at providing new and original solutions to any health and wellbeing issues. She has worked with Network Rail and other TOCs and service providers in order to meet the needs and by creating choices for employees and provide more joined up solutions. Deborah is excellent at promoting positive mental wellbeing and is always actively seeking improvements in health and wellbeing and creating positive working environments.“
“Deborah has worked tirelessly to promote Health & Wellbeing within the company. Both physical & mental wellbeing.
She has supported & encouraged firstly staff to take responsibility & become a Health & Wellbeing champion. Once a Champion she has helped them to promote Health & Wellbeing within their area. She is constantly in contact with the champions putting forward ideas & material to promote a healthier workplace.
She makes sure that each area has a Health Fair each year & due to health checks some staff find they require medication for high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It may also identify other health risks which the person may not have realised.
She is definitely one of the unsung heroes of the company.“
“I have been working with Deborah Thomas on many health and wellbeing events and she is always so helpful and supportive. I am nominating her for her contribution on promoting health and wellbeing to Southeastern colleague.
Deborah runs various health and wellbeing events all over Southeast London and Kent area and my dealing with her was on promoting Yoga and meditation to Southeastern colleague and this was done with great success under the programme called "Train at the Train station" where Southeastern colleagues trained yoga and mindfulness at the train station.“
“In my role as Senior Employee Wellbeing Consultant for Health Shield I have worked with Deborah for many years, attending the wellbeing events across the South Eastern Railway sites Deborah organises. She has always organised these events with fine precision and attends them all herself to support all the organisations she invites along and encourages the SE employees to have the onsite health checks/massages etc she also encourages them to find out further the staff benefits SE have in place by asking them to speak to us all in attendance. She is very well respected not just by me but the managers at the events within SE and the employees at the stations/depots where they are being held. She goes the extra mile in her passion to support the knowledge of wellbeing within South Eastern Railway and I very much enjoy working with her.“
“Deborah is the key person for anything health & wellbeing in SE Trains Ltd.
She clearly loves her job and does it really well with a smile. Numerous health & wellbeing meetings at various locations, Health Fairs & all other events that she gets invited to, and represents our company, people and health & wellbeing!
Well done Deborah and I/we support you on this as much as we can! :-)“
“Deborah is dedicated to Health and Wellbeing and is always ensuring that we are all aware of what is available to us
She is also a great personal support and listener.“
“The Lifesaver award seeks to recognise those individuals who have intervened to potentially save the life of a vulnerable person on the rail network, and to demonstrate that talking and listening to someone in need can make a huge difference. Samaritans’ aims of breaking down barriers to intervening and the myths about suicide are now imbedded in rail culture with over 10,500 staff trained, while the number of interventions are up by 34% from April 2015. Empowering staff to support vulnerable members of the public, colleagues, friends or family remains a core part of the relationship between the rail industry and Samaritans and The Lifesaver award is an opportunity to highlight this crucial on-going work as well as encouraging rail staff to be champions for our service.”
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