Staff in the Royal Free Hospital theatres department have been taking part in ‘fabulous Fridays’, a unique way of improving morale within the team.

The ‘fabulous Fridays’ see staff getting involved in a variety of fun, sociable activities which offer a bit of light relief from their daily work.

Dr Melanie Tan, the locum consultant anaesthetist who started the initiative, said: “I started ‘fabulous Fridays’ as the staff here are amazing, they work really hard from the beginning to the end of their shift, often with minimal downtime and with little contact with the outside world during the day.

“Fabulous Fridays started as small activities to encourage staff to relate to each other outside of work and it has grown over the past couple of months as more people have become interested.”

The most recent ‘fabulous Friday’ saw a huge bake-off event to raise money for anaesthetic charity, Lifebox. Staff swapped scrubs for pinnies for the day and baked cakes which were then sold around the hospital. Prizes were awarded for the best tasting cake, the best presentation, the cake containing the most of your five-a-day, the most effort and the most creative. The bake-off raised £1,020 which will go towards buying lifesaving pulse oximetry monitors, which monitor the oxygen saturation of a patient's blood. These will be sent to Nepal, raising standards of care in anaesthesia.

Dr Tan said “The bake-off gave a little light relief and it was really heart-warming to hear staff congratulate each other on their baking. We saw some real creativity including a courgette and lime cake, beautifully individual wrapped cookies, a Polish cheesecake made in hospital accommodation and chilli chocolate and lime lamingtons. It was difficult to choose which ones to award prizes to!”

The team will hold another ‘fabulous Friday’ event on Friday 10 July, with a Mary Kay pamper evening. Staff will be invited to join professional make-up artists and beauticians to try out the latest in skincare products, make-up and have their nails professionally polished.

ENDS

Notes to editors

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About the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

The Royal Free began as a pioneering organisation and continues to play a leading role in the care of patients. Our mission is to provide world class expertise and local care. In the 21st century, the Royal Free London continues to lead improvements in healthcare.

The Royal Free London attracts patients from across the country and beyond to its specialist services in liver, kidney and bone marrow transplantation, haemophilia, renal, HIV, infectious diseases, plastic surgery, immunology, vascular surgery, cardiology, amyloidosis and scleroderma and we are a member of the academic health science partnership UCLPartners.

In July 2014 Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital became part of the Royal Free London.