We are delighted to announce that Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has become the first integrated care system to receive Menopause Friendly Accreditation, working together with our partner organisations to support our collective workforce.
Half of our health and care workforce identify as female and are aged 45+, making it a compelling decision to put in place a high-quality package of support.
Anne Bell, Menopause Friendly Independent Panel member, said: “We’re delighted to see Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership achieve Independent Menopause Friendly Accreditation; it’s so well deserved. They’ve demonstrated consistent and thorough awareness, education and training initiatives reaching all parts of their organisation, brilliantly led by a team of passionate people, creating a culture where menopause is easy to talk about and making support available. Well, done to everyone involved.”
Working with partner organisations, the ICS has developed a programme to raise awareness of the menopause, its symptoms, and ways of managing them, and implications on long term health, as well as support to have GP and workplace conversations. Line managers are now armed with the information and tools needed to have supportive conversations and around 50 menopause advocates across the partnership have undergone specific menopause training that they can share with others.
We are so proud to have worked with the inspiring and positive menopause leads in our partner organisations HEY Smile Foundation; Humber and Wolds Rural Action; Care Plus Group; City Health Care Partnership; Harrogate and District Foundation Trust; York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Community First Yorkshire; Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust; Yorkshire Ambulance Service; North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust; Hull University Teaching Hospital and our CCGs.
Partner organisations have done much to develop a supportive culture and environment, putting in place appropriate facilities, resources, and policies. HR, Occupational Health teams and senior managers have worked together to demonstrate Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership and our partner organisations’ commitment to improving support for those experiencing the menopause.
Open University professor Jo Brewis is a Menopause Friendly Accreditation Independent Panel member and co-authored a government report on the effects of menopause on women’s economic participation. She said:“While we’ve made enormous progress over the past few years, the topic of menopause is still quite taboo – and with that comes a lot of misunderstanding and stereotyping.
“Employers have an important role to play in supporting the issues and stages of the menopause, just like they have with other stages of women’s reproductive lives, like pregnancy and maternity, for decades. An inclusive workplace and colleague wellbeing are at the heart of menopause in the workplace support; in turn, benefits include increased productivity, lower absence levels, and fewer recruitment costs.”