Stockport NHS Trust has been doing Stockport proud recently, picking up accolades and shortlists at a range of awards ceremonies across the country. 

The trend continues into March, as staff at the trust picked up a national award at the NHS Communications Conference on Thursday 7th. 

The award was for a staff-run project, aimed at providing assistance for other staff facing the menopause. 

The majority of women experience menopause at some point in their lives, and it can result in prolonged periods of sickness - it is doubly important given the demographic of the Stockpot NHS workforce, where 44 percent are women aged between 45-64.

To address these issues, a menopause working group was launched. 

The Stockport team won in the Communications Team Health and Wellbeing category of the NHS Communicate Awards 2024 (Image via Stockport NHSFT)

Group projects included a blog, a monthly menopause café, and a regular 'Schwartz round' where colleagues could meet and share their experiences. 

The staff found that having a forum to share symptoms and provide reassurance was very useful; as an NHS spokesperson reports: "The new approach has resulted in a huge improvement in the support given to staff experiencing the menopause."

The self-described purpose of the awards is to "learn from and celebrate the incredible work and achievements of the past year".

The awards featured nine categories; winners elsewhere included Liverpool, West London and Shropshire NHS Trusts. 

Helen O'Brien, head of communications at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, said the team were 'thrilled' with the award (Image - Stockport NHSFT)

Speaking of Stockport's win, the panel of judges said: "The consensus among the panel was a 'well done' for launching such a focused campaign on the menopause with clear evidence of evaluation of the campaign impact. 

"Given the workforce is mainly women, they felt it was a really important subject which secured high engagement and changes in the workplace, for example a network, fans and lighter uniforms. 

"The range of activities was impressive, with sponsorship by a senior leader in the trust."

Stockport NHS head of communications Helen O'Brien said: "Bringing a new level of support for those experiencing the menopause has been both the right thing to do for our colleagues, and will also help us all to be more productive and provide the best care we can. 

"The Communications team has been proud to help promote this new support to our colleagues, and we're thrilled to have been recognised by the NHS Communicate Awards for our efforts."

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