Lancashire Care ranked number 3 in NHS Trust's Top 50 UK employers!

LANCASHIRE Care NHS Foundation Trust has been listed within the top 3 NHS Trust's in The UK's Top 50 Employers, for its work in demonstrating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

For the third year in a row, the Trust has been listed within:- "The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers." This year the Trust is up 4 places and has been ranked number 20 out of 50 organisations in the UK for their outstanding efforts and commitment to attracting and retaining a truly diverse workforce. Compiled by a dedicated panel of judges, the list has been collated based on organisations' performance on a range of areas within the diversity arena including recruitment procedures, training and other diversity related initiatives.

Emma Allen, Equality and Diversity Lead at Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, said:- "I am thrilled with Lancashire Care's #20 place on the Top 50 Inclusive Employers list. This is our third year on the list and we are creeping up each year, which is a really positive reflection of the hard work we do to make our organisation as inclusive and accessible as possible for a wide range of people. The award isn't the important thing though. Being on the list allows us to benchmark ourselves against other inclusive companies and the events run by the Inclusive Employers team throughout the year allow all of us to share knowledge of best practice and adapt that learning back in our own places of work. The list has a mixture of public, private and 3rd sector organisations and it can be really helpful to see things from a range of perspectives so we can be more innovative in our approach to equality, diversity and inclusion. We know that we still have a lot of work to do at Lancashire Care; we don't always get things right and not everyone has the best possible experience of the Trust that they could. 1 of the other benefits of being in the Top 20 Inclusive Employers is that we have an improved reputation and people trust in the fact that we really want to do our best to keep people at the heart of everything we do. Because of this, they are more likely to tell us what we need to do to make things even better for all the diverse people that work for us and use our services. On 15 November 2018, we attended the Inclusive Companies annual award ceremony and enjoyed a brilliant celebration of people working together to improve inclusion for everyone. I couldn't be more proud to work for an organisation which takes its commitment to this agenda seriously and can evidence that it is getting better at it every year!"

Paul Sesay, Founder of Inclusive Companies said:- "With every news report and article of events happening across the world, it is now even more important than ever to stand together. It is your stories and commitment that enable this, so I encourage you to share how you enabled that change in yourself or others, and how every day you inspire hope."

The list was revealed at the prestigious awards ceremony on held, on Thursday, 15 November 2018, at The Midland Hotel, Manchester. For more information about the list visit:- InclusiveTop50.Co.UK.

Top results for local community mental health services

LOCAL NHS Trust CWP has been recognised as a top performer nationally following the publication of results for the 2018 Community Mental Health Survey. The survey, which is based on the views of local people accessing community mental health services and published by national healthcare regulators the Care Quality Commission (CQC), identifies Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) as performing:- "better than expected" when compared to other trusts nationally.

This includes the Trust landing 9% above the national average for people who rated its services 9 or 10 out of 10. People accessing community mental health services in Cheshire and Wirral were asked their views on a number of themes related to their care. Within these categories, CWP has been established as 1 of the top 3 Trusts nationally for:- 'organising your care,' 'NHS therapies' and 'Your health and social care workers.'

The Trust also features in the top 20% nationally for:- 'care and treatment,' 'Planning your care,' 'Reviewing your care,' 'Medicines' and 'support and wellbeing,' with no scores in the lower 20% for any question.

Cathy Walsh, CWP Associate Director for Patient and Carer and Experience, said:- "I'm absolutely delighted to hear that CWP has been identified as performing 'better than expected' compared to other trusts within the survey. I think it's a clear testament to the values that our staff uphold and demonstrate in delivering care that is person centred."

Glennis Wilkes of Sandbach, Cheshire, who has lived experience of CWP's local community mental health services, said:- "The staff always listen to me and respect my wishes when it comes to my treatment and care. They are always professional and treat me as my own person."

Avril Devaney MBE, CWP Director of Nursing, Therapies and Patient Partnerships, said:- "The fact that this survey is based on the feedback we receive from people accessing our services is incredibly important. In recent years we've been identified by the CQC as 'Outstanding for Care,' and to have this echoed through our patient experience is particularly pleasing. I'd like to congratulate all colleagues at CWP for their unwavering commitment to helping people be the best they can be."

CWP provides mental health and learning disability to the people of Cheshire and Wirral, as well as physical community services in West Cheshire. The Trust also provides specialist services within Liverpool, Sefton, Bolton, Warrington, Halton and Trafford.

Further details about the Community Mental Health Survey 2018 can be found at:- CQC.Org.UK. For more information visit:- CWP.NHS.UK.