CWPT continue to champion women in the community and workforce
International Women’s Day takes place on 8 March each year, and this year’s theme is looking at the collective responsibility of accelerating action for gender equality. This International Women’s Day, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust (CWPT) reflects on how it continues to support and champion the voices of both women in its workforce and women in the local community.
Today, over 80% of CWPT’s workforce is made up of women who work across a wide range of roles and services to provide care to the population of Coventry and Warwickshire. With various initiatives led by women or services specially aimed at supporting and improving women’s health, CWPT is proud to be championing the voices of the female community and taking positive steps towards gender parity.
Supporting women in the local community
CWPT’s Perinatal Mental Health Service supports women who are pregnant and up to their second postnatal year, who are experiencing serious perinatal mental health difficulties including, but not limited to, birth trauma, psychosis, perinatal obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, anxiety, bonding and attachment issues and an intense and disabling fear of childbirth.
The service has also recently relaunched its “Loss Pathway” with an expanded offer to support women across Coventry, Rugby, North and South Warwickshire. The new referral criteria has been expanded to include those who have experienced baby loss relating to miscarriage, termination for any reason (medical or non-medical), stillbirth or death of child prior to them reaching 2 years of age. There is now also no time limit on how long ago the loss happened for people to be referred to the service.
Investment in the Perinatal Loss Pathway will also ensure the service is able to provide increased support for ethnic minorities, who sadly experience increased baby loss than the ethnic majority, and improve its reach to these communities.
Dedicated team tackling health inequalities in the community
CWPT is proud to have a Health Equity Team led by Lexi Ireland, Strategic Lead, and supported by Olamide Folorunsho, Project Support Coordinator. The team is working to transform healthcare and improve services for underrepresented communities, as well as the women in those communities. By developing and implementing strategies that improve access, experience, and outcomes, this female-led team is driving long term, meaningful change to create a healthcare system where everyone is treated equitably. Future work includes a focus on the first of the 5 clinical recommendations from : maternity, and ensuring continuity of care for women from Global Ethnic Majority communities, and those from the most deprived groups.
Lexi Ireland, Strategic Lead for Health Equity, said, “By understanding barriers firsthand, we ensure that our efforts aren’t just about meeting targets but truly reaching people and sustaining impact. It is so important that we work to support improvements in healthcare, and advocate and speak up for the people that cannot be heard themselves.”
Supporting women in the workforce
CWPT is supporting female health in the workforce by raising awareness and support around menopause to staff. The Trust’s Psychological Skills Development Service (PSDS) has worked closely with staff and managers to build a supportive environment for colleagues going through menopause. Over 190 Trust staff members have so far received menopause-related sessions, with more sessions and training being planned in the future. Diane Ćosić, from PSDS has taken the sessions even further and has delivered wider sessions on female health, including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
In collaboration with staff from the Recovery and Wellbeing Academy and HR, the PSDS piloted a bespoke training workshop on ‘understanding and managing menopause’ to give a better understanding of female health within CWPT and build a culture of understanding and support amongst colleagues. Staff described the sessions as “a safe environment to speak without judgment” and an opportunity to “finally start ridding the stigma surrounding menopause.”
CWPT continue to champion, support and recognise the impact of women across the workforce and the community they care for to ensure that voices of the entire community are represented at the heart of what they do.