Central and North West London (CNWL) NHS Foundation Trust has received menopause friendly accreditation for its commitment to supporting employee health and wellbeing.
The Trust, which has a team of more than 8,000, took three key steps to achieve recognition. This included launching an internal menopause resource page for managers and workers, introducing a peer support group for employees and monitoring menopause referrals through occupational health.
Established by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, the accreditation was awarded to CNWL because of the high standards it had achieved, as well as the proven practices it had developed to support those affected by menopause at work.
Nick Green, chief people officer at CNWL, said: “The menopause friendly 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.
“National workplace statistics show that many women were struggling on their own and were leaving jobs, reducing their hours or forgoing opportunities for promotion. If this is happening nationally it is likely to be happening at CNWL and we wanted to support our staff and be truly inclusive.”
Before awarding the accreditation, an independent panel assessed the Trust in six areas, including policies and practices, training, facilities, culture, engagement and evaluation.
Laura Knight and Rebecca Dunkerley, co-chairs of CNWL’s Women’s Staff Network, said: “We’re really proud of this work highlighted by our staff and given a voice initially through the Women’s Network and 50plus groups. It’s often hard to talk about health and wellbeing issues at work, and we’ve heard in our forums the relief of having spaces to recognise this issue.
“It’s so important to not just talk, but to have permission, structures and education to move forward that this accreditation give us as at CNWL. Making it clear that we value all our staff throughout their careers at CNWL.”
Green suggests other employers wanting to become menopause friendly should work with their staff in order to do so. He added: “Be sure to listen to the needs of your 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.”
