North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust has once again been awarded our Carer Friendly Tick Award (Health), in recognition of their continued work to identify and support carers.
The trust runs Peterborough City Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, as well as Stamford and Rutland Hospital, which together serve approximately 700,000 people in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, and the surrounding area.
The panel of carers, who assessed the submission from the trust on behalf of Caring Together, were impressed by the range of work being done across the hospitals, and the impact that this has on both carers and those they care for.
Maria Finch, head of patient experience, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust said the Trust was extremely proud to have been awarded the Carer Friendly Tick Award for another year.
She added: “In the past 18 months the landscape of the NHS has changed in the wake of the Corona pandemic. During this this time the Trust has continued to identify and work actively with carers, recognising their key role in supporting the patients, our staff, and the NHS. This award is not only in recognition for the work done within the Trust but also for the carers themselves and their contribution.”
The Trust was awarded the Carer Friendly Tick for reasons including them having a carer advisor who plays an important role in promoting the carer friendly ethos and championing the role of carers.
The panel also noted that the Trust’s carer focussed policies are detailed and thorough, and clearly demonstrate a desire to ensure that carers are identified and supported in a ‘person centred’ approach.
Andy McGowan, head of carer services at Caring Together, said, “We know that the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for the Trust to maintain a safe environment for patients may have affected efforts to create a carer friendly environment.
“However, it is encouraging to hear from the panel of carers that the Trust continues to recognise and value the contribution of carers when the person they care for is in hospital and when they return home.
“We hope that other schools, colleges, universities and health organisations, businesses and community groups will follow in this good work. They can develop their own ways to identify and support carers, and we are here to help them do this. As the number and awareness of carers grows this will be an ever more important part of making sure carers are given the recognition and help, they deserve.”
Read more about our Carer Friendly Tick Awards and how your organisation can support carers.
www.caringtogether.org/professionals/carer-friendly-tick-award
