#WellbeingMatters: Our Values
As part of our focus on the fantastic people at the heart of NOE CPC and its partners for #WellbeingMatters month, we are looking at the various groups in place across our host trust, Leeds and York Partnership Trust (LYPFT), that are helping to support, provide knowledge and create nurturing communities for colleagues across the organisation.
Here is a brief overview of the various groups in place to support colleagues across LYPFT:
WREN
“The Workforce Race Equality Network (WREN) was formed in 2018 and is made up of staff across all grades and professions in NHS Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust (LYPFT) to work together to foster connections, create positive relationships and challenge the status quo around cultural needs and inclusion. WREN’s aim is to create an environment that provides personal and professional opportunities for all and promotes transparency, respect, and the opportunity to learn together.
“WREN is utilised throughout the Trust and partnering organisations to create a network that is cohesive and collaborative to provide support to staff within the organisation so everyone can reach their personal and professional aspirations. We also focus on bringing organisational change and improved experiences for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff which is paramount throughout our work. We work to promote a safe and positive environment for all staff to eliminate racial discrimination against employees and service users. Ensuring fairness, equality and diversity are at the centre of what we do.
“Since the network first began, we have had a positive impact on LYPFT and the wider organisation. Voices have been heard of BAME staff and improvements have been made in LYPFT policies, procedures, and processes, particularly around the People Plan.
“In 2023 WREN aims to continue to grow by building on the renewed interest of NHS careers to expand and develop our BAME workforce, as well as retaining colleagues for longer.” - Mahesh Patel, WREN co-chair.
Staff Experience Group
“The NOE CPC Staff Experience Group was formed as an action/output from the Staff Experience Survey which was completed by an extended leadership team and wider NOE CPC staff project group focused on:
- Further insights into 2020 staff survey results
- Aim to identify and develop areas for improvement on an ‘even better if’ basis
- Developed an NOECPC staff experience survey to gain insight into how staff viewed working at NOECPC and ways to make it an even better place to work.
“The staff experience group is focused on delivering Key outputs from the Staff Experience Survey including supporting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), getting a greater range of voices heard at team meetings All Hands as an example and making it easier to access LYPFT resources, information, and policies.
“The staff experience group is still relatively new however already they have worked with Technical Services to ensure all staff has easy access to All Trust Comms direct to NOE CPC and NHS Supply Chain email addresses. We are also working with the trust on a solution to expand Staffnet access. A calendar of EDI focus events has been developed. Some of these have already been featured in All Hands calls with other expert voices speaking on issues.
“The Staff Experience Group are volunteers and fit in work alongside their day job. New volunteers are welcome to join the group to both share ideas and help deliver on our objectives.” – Julian Clarke, Staff Experience Group Management Sponsor.
Rainbow Alliance
“One of the values of our host trust is to be caring, and among the many support services we provide to our own staff in line with that value is the Rainbow Alliance, which I co-chair. NOE CPC and its host trust aim to consistently acknowledge and address the inequalities which LGBT+ people face in society to better meet their healthcare needs. The Rainbow Alliance is a member-led movement that is working to achieve this. The Alliance is a staff network committed to enhancing the quality of services the Trust delivers to the LGBTQ+ community and providing LGBTQ+ identifying staff and allies with a space and group to provide mutual support, advice, and reflection on issues relevant to the community, such as societal issues and health risks, and to communicate those issues out to the broader staff community. We are also a part of the broader Leeds LGBT Wellbeing Partnership, a city-wide group of representatives from health and social care provider agencies from the statutory and voluntary sectors. 2023 is a relaunch year for the Rainbow Alliance, so our terms of reference and scope are still to be formally decided.
"The Rainbow Alliance has significant representation from LYPFT’s award-winning Gender Outreach service, and one key element of our work is supporting staff who work there to deliver the best care to their service users and to keep the broader community informed of lessons learned and new ideas coming from the service.
"Equivalent staff networks (the Workforce Race Equality Network and the Disability and Wellbeing Network) fulfil similar functions for BAME staff or for those staff who have health conditions or are disabled, and as of 2023 a new staff network in support of Bank Staff is being stood up.” – Ian Andrews, Rainbow Alliance co-chair.
Menopause Support Group
“The Menopause Support Group (via Microsoft Teams) is open to all colleagues at LYPFT, whether you are going through or have gone through menopause or whether you are seeking ways you can support someone you know. Our aim is to create a comfortable and open community where members feel empowered to get the advice, support, and expertise they need. It is also important that this is a safe space and colleagues can come just as observers and not feel the need, or pressure, to contribute.
“After going through an extremely challenging medical time, I went through surgical menopause, which means I went through menopause immediately after the operation, without any build-up as you would normally have with a natural menopause.
“During my return to work, I began researching for any existing support in place for colleagues experiencing menopause and there was none. After a long time of pursuing I eventually found a new colleague, Alex Cowan, Head of Wellbeing at LYPFT, and explained my situation. After many positive discussions, Alex set up the monthly Menopause Support Group which I co-facilitated with her the first time to share my experience and what I thought could be done at the Trust. We started the Menopause Support Group in 2021 and it has kept on growing ever since.
“For many of the meetings, we have guest expert menopause clinicians attending who provide advice and guidance to support women who are transitioning through perimenopause, are in the menopause or who are post-menopausal.
“In April 2022, LYPFT celebrated the first-ever NHS Menopause Festival. The event was a huge success, we had over 350 attendees, including lots of people looking to improve their understanding of how they can be more supportive to others close to them. The festival was covered by the local press, and it is something that attendees wish to be repeated.
“The NHS employs 1.2 million people, of which over 76% are female, and this number continues to grow every year. Menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace with 10% leaving their job or passing up promotions as they feel they cannot perform due to lack of confidence and/or experiencing severe symptoms. Here at LYPFT we continue to grow as a group, sharing knowledge and harnessing a safe environment where women feel comfortable to share their experiences or just listen. Our future aim is to begin developing training sessions for managers, so they feel comfortable and confident with assisting colleagues going through menopause.” – Leigh Pratt, Menopause Support Group.
This is just a sample of the extensive support available to support teams and individuals across the organisation to share experiences and knowledge. At NOE CPC we are proud to have an engaged, motivated team committed to raising the bar in NHS procurement and delivering value and compliance to customers. We share our values: Integrity, Simplicity, and Caring with our host trust, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. We integrate these into everything we do to create a compassionate and supportive environment for all colleagues.