Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has retained its Maintaining Excellence Standard, the highest level of the Better Health at Work Award, a regional scheme recognising employers’ efforts to improve staff health and wellbeing. The Trust also kept its ambassador status, which the scheme grants to a limited number of organisations, and the assessment report gave it special recognition for ensuring health and wellbeing is embedded and continually woven into its infrastructure. I received the award with colleagues as a member of the board and of the people and culture committee.
In the Trust’s announcement on 26 June 2023, Steven Chater, the staff wellbeing lead, described the ethos as wellbeing “built in, not bolt-on”, carried across the Trust’s many teams by a growing group of health and wellbeing champions. Jill Harland, consultant in public health at the Trust, set out how the programme uses insight and intelligence to tailor interventions to the needs of different staff groups, and Kate Thompson, executive director of people and organisational development, thanked staff for the ideas that shaped it. Susanne Nichol, who assessed the Trust for the award, said it takes its ambassador and anchor institution status seriously and uses it to the advantage of staff and community alike.
Media coverage #
Better Health at Work Award for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northumberland Gazette, 7 July 2023