This World Menopause Day we’ve been reflecting on an exciting year in our mission to put menopause awareness and support on the agenda…
July saw Humber and North Yorkshire (HNY) Health and Care Partnership achieve our ambition of becoming a menopause friendly integrated care system (ICS). We couldn’t have done this at system-level without the support and enthusiasm of our partner organisations, but we’re not stopping there…
With 75-80% of our workforce identifying as women and around half being over the age of 45, at any one time a significant proportion of our people may experience menopause symptoms that can impact us both at work and at home.
As line managers and colleagues, we all have a responsibility to learn more about what we can do to support people going through this stage in their lives.
So, what have we been up to?
We’ve been busy raising awareness, providing practical advice, tips and resources for anyone going through the menopause themselves or supporting someone who is. Just some of this activity includes:
- a train the trainer initiative to give people the tools, experience and confidence to run awareness sessions across our system as well as within our own individual organisations
- a library of resources available online covering everything from bite-sized help around exercise and nutrition to support packs for talking to your GP
- the launch of the “Our People” app which provides a suite of ‘on the go’ self-help resources, podcasts and a tailored news feed; giving us the tools at our fingertips to help manage our wellbeing positively and effectively (you can download the “Our People” app on iOS or Google Play)
- the roll-out of the Peppy app – a menopause support app for those of us who feel like we’re not getting the help or support we need for our menopause symptoms.
Time to celebrate
To celebrate World Menopause Day 2022 we’re holding an exciting, jam-packed Menopause Festival from Monday 17 October to Thursday 20 October 2022. Not only do we have TV celebrities, we also have a range of menopause specialists covering everything from medication to mindfulness, nutrition to intimacy and lots in between.
We’ll also be looking at the cultural differences in menopause experiences and how our cultures or ethnicity can shape our menopause journeys.
Take a look at what’s on during the Menopause Festival 2022 and book your place on BookWhen.
It’s not over yet
As the programme grows we are continuing to run awareness sessions with new dates and areas of focus added regularly. Some of our upcoming sessions include:
- Sleep support during the menopause
(Wednesday 9 November 2022, 12.30-1.30pm) - It’s time to talk about menopause for line managers
(Thursday 10 November 2022, 1-2pm) - Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) and perimenopause: how hormones can affect your mood and what you can do about it
(Wednesday 30 November 2022, 12.30-1.30pm) - Understanding your body systems is key to self-empowerment
(Tuesday 6 December 2022, 12.30-1.30pm) - Menopause awareness at work training for colleagues, including partners and family members
(Friday 9 December 2022, 9-10am) - Restorative yoga for the menopause
(Monday 12 December 2022, 12.30-1.30pm)
All sessions are free and open to all staff working or volunteering in health and care across HNY.
We’ve come a long way in our journey to make sure we live and breathe our menopause-friendly status in HNY and we will continue to work with our partner organisations to provide support and raise awareness across HNY.
If you have any comments or suggestions or we can provide further help and support, please email hny.wellbeing@nhs.net to get in touch.