Health and wellbeing

The health and wellbeing of our staff is a top priority for NHS Midlands and Lancashire (NHS ML) and we regularly provide information, advice and events to support both physical health and mental wellbeing.

Some of the ways we support are:

• Nugget – our staff intranet site has a dedicated health and wellbeing section where you can find a range of information on employee benefits, physical, mental health and wellbeing support
• Menopause awareness – we actively encourage our employees to talk openly about the menopause and its effects on women’s work lives
• Wellbeing networks – through encouragement and support, our staff have set up a wide variety of hobby clubs, from gardening, to walking, running, crochet and book reading all connected through our MS Teams NHS ML Community channels
• Health and wellbeing newsletter – including the key health awareness days and initiatives for the next two months
• RED December, Couch to 5K, Tough Mudder – we actively encourage our staff to take part in health and fitness challenges: a bit of competitive spirit never hurts
• Equality and inclusion – each month, we promote key international religious holidays and human rights awareness days and initiatives
• Flu vaccinations – information and access to a free vaccine annually
• Regular health and wellbeing advice in our staff newsletter and staff Twitter feed

Recognition

Our staff are our most treasured asset and we recognise that a motivated workforce is the only way we can achieve our full potential and reach our goals.

We celebrate positive feedback and customer praise every time we can, to ensure that our staff feel valued, and we put a lot of effort and resource into our recognition schemes:

• Annual ‘staff celebrations’ event
• Long service awards for 25′ and 35′ years service
• Recognise each other by saying ‘thank you’ on our staff intranet
• Annual staff survey: have your say.

Fundraising and charity work

At NHS ML, we openly encourage our employees to undertake charity work and fundraising activities. With dedicated space in our internal communications, staff can share their initiatives and encourage fellow employees to donate or raise awareness.

We also allow additional leave for those who wish to do volunteering. Some of the charitable organisations who have benefited from our staff’s dedication and generosity include:

• Mind
• Macmillan Cancer Support
• Save the Children
• Cancer Research UK
• BBC Children in Need
• Versus Arthritis
• Blackpool Carers Centre
• The Donna Louise Hospice
• Movember Foundation
• Care for the Family
• Inspiring the Future
• Breast Cancer Care
• Birmingham City Mission
• Birmingham City Church
• Ideal for All
• The Whitechapel Centre
• Chocolate Orange Challenge
• Pancreatic Cancer Action
• Samaritans
• Netball Development Trust.