Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust has received menopause-friendly accreditation as part of its commitment to offer a menopause education and to build a more inclusive culture.
Established by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, the accreditation is awarded to employers based on an assessment by an independent panel, where they must demonstrate their effectiveness in culture, policies and practices, training, engagement, facilities and evaluation.
In order to make an impact in terms of support and engagement, CNWL introduced an internal menopause resource page for its more than 8,000 employees and managers, a peer support group, and occupational health monitoring of menopause-related referrals.
It listened to its workers in its women’s network and 50-plus group, and carried out a menopause staff survey, which highlighted areas of strength and weakness so it could bring about positive improvements through structures and education across all levels of the organisation.
Nick Green, chief people officer at Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The accreditation demonstrates our commitment to supporting our staff’s health and wellbeing. Being a menopause-friendly employer aligns with our trust values, our ‘Wellbeing for Life’ vision and our NHS People Promise. We want our staff to be able to bring their whole self to work but realised that speaking openly about perimenopause and menopause had been far too infrequent.
“We found that our staff were keen to speak up, share their lived experiences, engage fully and express what improvements and support they would like to see in their workplace. In addition. Be sure to listen to the needs of staff and never underestimate the benefits of collaboration. Through collaboration, we have worked hard at listening to and communicating with everyone to ensure true diversity and inclusivity and achieve goals set by our staff.”