Northampton General Hospital named Health and Wellbeing Employer of the Year at national awards

Our Health Hero Award

Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has been crowned Health and Wellbeing Employer of the Year, at the fifth Our Health Heroes Awards, for its staff wellbeing services that have supported the workforce, both physically and mentally, during COVID-19 and beyond.

Delivered by Skills for Health, the annual Our Health Heroes campaign shines a light on the efforts of healthcare support staff. Over 600 nominations across nine award categories were received for the awards, including those in the Health and Wellbeing Employer of the Year Award, judged by NHS England and Improvement.

Bronwen Curtis, Director of HR and OD, NGH said about winning the award: “Providing support to our staff is our shared passion and their health and wellbeing is our focus. Our team practices of sharing insights, researching evidence, innovative thinking and collaborative working mean we can provide a wide range of services that meet the diverse and changing needs of our staff. We feel extremely proud that our contribution has been valued.”

The award was presented by Prerana Issar, Chief People Officer at NHS England and Improvement. On announcing the winner, Prerana said: “The focus on health and wellbeing is crucial for all employers and staff, now so more than ever, with the additional challenges faced by our NHS people due to the pandemic. And it is a key focus within our NHS People Plan. By recognising those who are going above and beyond to implement wellbeing strategies that are making a real difference to staff, we will hopefully inspire other organisations to do the same.”

The award-winning Health and Wellbeing Collaborative; comprised of a Staff Psychology Service, Health and Wellbeing Service, Occupational Health Service, Support our Staff (SoS) Service, Organisational Development (OD) and Human Resources (HR) Team are truly multidisciplinary in their approach; applying the skills of experienced clinicians alongside those of non-clinical and voluntary staff, to deliver exceptionally diverse, preventative, and responsive effective outcomes for the entire workforce.

The numerous initiatives offered by the Health and Wellbeing Services focus on maximising the emotional, physical, and practical resources available to care for all staff, at every stage of their NGH journey.

One Health and Wellbeing Service user commented: “The mental health awareness workshop was the start of me really realising I need to look after myself, I’m no good to others if I’m not managing myself.”

John Rogers, Chief Executive at Skills for Health, said: “The continuous and effective joint working and integrated approach the Health and Wellbeing Services team take to improving staff outcomes demonstrates why they are such worthy winners of the Health and Wellbeing Employer of the Year title. This award is a testament to their hard work and commitment to the entire NGH workforce, at such a crucial time.”