Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust Levelling Up Impact Report
CONTENTS
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CONTENTS
Contents 01
Foreword Rt Hon Anne Milton Foreword Elliot Howard-Jones, Chief Executive, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
02
Introduction to Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
03
The Journey to the Purpose Goals
04
Mapping Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust’s activities against the Purpose Goals
05
Analysis
06
Recommendations
CONTENTS
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01
Foreword
Rt Hon Anne Milton Rt Hon Anne Milton, Chair of the Purpose Health Coalition
The last few years have been extremely challenging for so many. With COVID-19 and now an everworsening cost of living crisis, the squeeze on individuals and families is the worst in a lifetime. The burden of the socio-economic and healthcare climate is felt most acutely by those on the frontline - the NHS and its staff. The role of the NHS, and those representing it, has never been more crucial. For many from less affluent areas and backgrounds, the effect of health inequalities during a pandemic and now a deepening cost of living crisis is even more severe. For example, in 2021 21.5% of dementia deaths were attributable to socio-economic deprivation and even during the pandemic, dementia was the cause of the most deaths in the UK. The consequence of health inequality is extreme, with many organisations, particularly the NHS, taking steps to combat it. Tackling health inequalities is just one of the many ways in which NHS organisations can make an impact. The scale of procurement and employment in the local community means the reach of these organisations is significant. As a community trust Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT) is at the heart of its local communities and has a pivotal role to play in spreading, equalising and supporting opportunities. Despite some common misconceptions Hertfordshire is a county distinct from London and also has pockets of deprivation. Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust also provides services in West Essex, parts of East England and Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.
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FOREWORD
The Trust is already involved in wide-reaching work in ensuring equality of opportunity for all. HCT is adding social value to its supply chain processes through a specific procurement programme. It has also undertaken an agenda of ‘Digital Enablement’ to ensure all patients have access to the technology that is becoming more of a necessity when interacting with healthcare services. And the Trust is also taking a leading role in tackling the climate crisis, putting together a comprehensive Green Plan securing the future of the Trust, patients, staff, and wider community in the face of the climate crisis. HCT has committed to the purpose agenda by measuring its impact against the Purpose Goals. This tracks the Trust’s current work around the Purpose agenda sharing its best practise, how it is planning to widen its impact, and creates recommendations on how the reach of this work could be extended. I welcome the work that Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is already doing to tackle inequalities and look forward to seeing its progress in the future.
Foreword
Elliot Howard-Jones Chief Executive Officer for Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
communities that we serve and in doing so help to address wider determinants of health and inequality.
As the UK deals with the social, economic and health legacy of COVID-19, communities face a range of additional challenges. For public sector organisations, the importance of social responsibility and wider consideration on the role that they play in their communities has never been greater.
We have identified the Purpose Goals as a helpful framework to use to help us focus our work to better understand, benchmark and assess the social impact potential we have and the progress we make. Through doing this we have identified best practice and a range of opportunities to further enhance the social value that we can add.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust has a strategic aspiration to support healthier communities through the services and care that we provide. We also recognise that we have an opportunity, through the assets that we have and the work that we do, to leverage these to contribute wider positive social impact as an anchor institution within the
Going forwards, we will now connect the priority goals that we have identified, into our delivery plan for the coming year and, in doing so, challenge ourselves and engage our partners to identify and incorporate ways in which we can further add social value and impact contributions over the coming year.
FOREWORD
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02 Introduction to Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust Background Serving a large geographical area which includes
Considering the ever present and frequent challenges
This means providing services to more than one
vital role in protecting all residents across Hertfordshire,
Hertfordshire, West Essex and parts of East England. million people, many of whom may commute to and
from London every day and other parts of the country, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is pivotal to the health and wellbeing of many.
The nature of Hertfordshire as a county, (being so close to Greater London), West Essex and parts of
East England, necessitates a forward-thinking and
strategic approach to healthcare for its community, staff and patients.
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INTRODUCTION
facing public services and individuals, the trust plays a West Essex and parts of East England.
The Trust’s vision on how best to approach this challenge is a simple yet ambitious goal of ‘outstanding services, healthier communities’.
This is underpinned by a commitment to a set of values, largely in line with the framework of the Purpose Goals: ‘Innovative’ - ‘seek new ideas and adopt best practice to improve our services’
Priorities around the purpose agenda ‘Caring’ - ‘show kindness and consideration
care networks, to improve community services in the
‘Agile’ - ‘deal with new situations quickly
integrate clinical pathways for the benefit of patients.
for others’
and successfully’
area, collaborate with partners to redesign services and
‘Great place to work’ - a continuous drive to make the
To ensure both the its vision and values are
Trust a great place to work by having an innovative, caring
following four strategic objectives:
employee offer, a commitment to ongoing professional
consistently met, the Trust has undertaken the
‘Outstanding quality and performance’ - the Trust
has ensured it will continue to strive to achieve an
‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission,
and agile set of values, through having a comprehensive
development and by ensuring it has inclusive, supportive and pleasant working environments.
‘Best value through innovation’ - one of the Trust’s
its current rating is ‘Good’ as of 2020. This will be done
top priorities is to ensure the best possible value for the
quality improvement (CQI) across the organisation
as efficient as possible, that they harness modern
through the driving of its approach to continuous
and by supporting staff to provide the best possible care to patients.
‘Joined-up local care’ - the Trust will play a key
public purse. This means ensuring corporate teams are processes, systems and technologies to enable staff to best do their jobs, and through investing in innovation, drive its ambition to be an outstanding provider of services.
role in the emerging Integrated Care Partnership for
These strategic objectives serve as an overarching
closely with their partners, such as GPs in primary
for best practice.
Hertfordshire and West Essex. This means working
commitment to the Purpose Goals and as a benchmark
INTRODUCTION
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03
The Journey to the Levelling Up Goals In 2015, as Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening MP led the UK delegation to the United Nations (UN). Along with 184 international partners, she helped to establish the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In 2017, the SDGs were made more ‘actionable’ by a
many of the problems relating to social inequality in
identified specific targets for each goal, along with
to address these issues and level up but that requires
UN resolution adopted by the General Assembly which indicators used to measure progress towards each
target. These 17 interlinked, global goals were designed to be ‘a blueprint to achieve a better and more
sustainable future for all’. They marked a shift from the previously established Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), following the Millennium Summit of the United
updated and specific goals in order to outline, inspire
and measure progress. The Purpose Coalition aims to improve social mobility in the UK and has responded
to this challenge with the launch of their own Purpose Goals in February 2021.
Nations in 2000. In contrast to the MDGS, the SDGs were
These new Goals build on the foundations laid by the
developed nations as well as developing countries.
expertise provided by academia and businesses which
nationally-owned, country-led and targeted wealthy,
The SDGs emphasised the interdependent
environment, social and economic aspects of
development by centralising the role of sustainability. As Secretary for State, Justine recognised how useful
a common set of accessible but ambitious objectives could be in galvanising action to effect change. Since then the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated
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the UK. The recovery is a chance for the United Kingdom
THE JOURNEY TO THE LEVELLING UP GOALS
UN’s SDGs by outlining 14 clear goals, and draw on
has been applied to the unique challenges facing the UK in levelling up. They focus on key life stages and highlight the main issues that need to be resolved in order to create a level playing field for all in this
country. The Purpose Goals are intended to guide how the urgent ambition to level up the UK can actually be
achieved. The impact of the work carried out to do this can, and should, be measurable.
Successful 1 Strong foundations school years 2 in Early Years
The Purpose Goals are
intended to guide how the urgent ambition to level
3 Positive destinations Post 16+
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up the UK can actually be Right advice and experiences
achieved. The impact of the
work carried out to do this can, and should, be measurable.
recruitment 5 Open
career progression 6 Fair
Sub-goals with quantifiable targets and measurements against which progress can be charted within the 14
goals are being developed in partnership with Purpose Coalition partners. This will create a more transparent
and measurable framework with which to monitor and
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Widening access to savings & credit
health and well-being 8 Good
subsequently address problems of social mobility and inequality. The Purpose Goals are designed to look
at the outcomes of Corporate Social Responsibility
strategies and measures that organisations operate. Many organisations are doing outstanding work and
making important contributions to society but are still
measuring this via inputs – a measure that focuses on pounds, shillings and pence rather than real impact to
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Extending enterprise
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Closing the digital divide
human lives.
Crucially, these Goals are a shared framework. Justine
and the wider Purpose Coalition, of which Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is a key member, believe that
with a common understanding and objectives, there can be action that drives change on the ground.
Distinct entities, including universities, businesses,
for opportunity 12 11 Infrastructure
Building homes & sustainable communities
NHS Trusts, councils, policy-makers, communities and NGOs, can work together, with the shared Goals being a uniting and motivating foundation for progress. As
the problems which cause social inequality in the UK are interlinked, it seems that the response to these problems must also be collaborative.
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Harness the energy transition
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Achieve equality, through diversity & inclusion
The Purpose Coalition has encouraged businesses, universities and public sector bodies to share their
own best practice with other organisations so they
are not only demonstrating their own commitment,
but creating a shift towards being purpose-led. The
Goals can encourage an extension of this co-operative exchange of information which can be used to help level up Britain.
THE JOURNEY TO THE LEVELLING UP GOALS
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04
Mapping Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust’s activities against the Purpose Goals
This section looks at HCT’s current activities against the Purpose Goals. Later in this report these activities will be analysed and areas where more could be done will be identified.
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HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
02 The Red Thread
1 Strong foundations in Early Years
HCT has experienced encouraging results so far in line with these measures:
Visiting new born babies, families by day 28 with
the aim to get affected babies on penicillin by 12
weeks of age and seen by a consultant by day 120. Pneumococcal vaccination every 5 years from
the age of 2 years old, this is currently at a rate of 95.5%.
Goal 1: Strong Foundations in early years HCT provides a range of young persons, services
across Hertfordshire, West Essex and parts of East England.. This includes health visiting and school
nursing, child health information, looked after children
All babies with sickle cell are administered all
possible childhood vaccinations.
The uptake of the Flu vaccination is 65.5%,
this increased during COVID-19, rising to a rate of 78% (2020/2021).
The Trust has explored treating Sickle Cell
and safeguarding children.
disorder with Hydroxycarbamide.
As well as universal services, the Trust provides
place to ensure children are not lost in follow
specialist services within the community. This covers services such as audiology, children’s community
nursing, paediatrics, children’s continuing care, dental and optical services and specialist school nursing.
HCT has ensured it has robust systems in
up procedures.
school years 2 Successful
It also provides occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy for children.
CASE STUDY Promoting Health Equity in the Children and Young Person Sickle Cell Nursing Service
Goal 2: Successful school years
Sickle cell disorder is a long term inherited blood
Early Years Support
the UK - it is the most serious genetic disorder in the UK.
team (CLA/CL) at HCT is commissioned to work in
condition that affects approximately 15,000 people in
The disorder affects the red blood cells, which are normally round and flexible, where they become
shaped like a crescent moon or sickle. This causes
The Children Looked After and Care Leavers’ Nursing close partnership with Hertfordshire County Council
(HCC) and other professionals to identify the health needs of children and young people in care.
symptoms of Anaemia, increased risk of infection and
As mentioned in Goal 1, HCT provides a range of
There is a higher prevalence of the disorder in people
The Step2 service supports children and young people
painful episodes.
of African-Caribbean origin, with it also being found in families originating from India and the Eastern
Mediterranean with increasing numbers of cases in mixed-race families.
Health inequalities and socio-economic disparities
are affecting the diagnosis and treatment of sickle cell disorder within some Hertfordshire communities.
young persons, services across the county.
with mild to moderate mental health challenges. Employment Pathways
The Trust has established connections with local schools, offering work experience pathways for children who have an interest in a career in
healthcare with specific offerings for nursing and doctors.
To address this, the Trust has set out plans for a more
As part of the Trust’s care leavers and looked after
children at birth, in conjunction with an agenda of
employment pathways with the Trust offered to
preventative approach to treating the disorder for parental education.
children scheme, there are a number of personalised young people.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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3 Positive destinations Post 16+
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Goal 3: Positive destinations post 16+
Goal 4: Right advice and experiences
Local Educational Outreach
Pre-Employment Support
Health Science Networks partnership on research
volunteers or individuals connected to the Trust
HCT works with local universities and the Academic and development.
The Trust often employs university students, gives
Right advice and experiences
HCT offers interview preparation support to any
who need it. This includes CV writing and specific job application support.
work experience that also provides flexible and
The Trust offers an in-house IT work experience initiative.
opportunity to work around other commitments.
Retraining Assistance
HCT representatives hold talks and meetings in
Programme - this aims to equip health and social care
remote working. This gives employees the
local colleges and universities, offering insights into career pathways within the NHS.
The Trust has a focus on the Care Certificate
support workers with the knowledge and skills needed to provide safe and compassionate care.
Apprenticeship Scheme
Through the programme framework HCT ensures
scheme. The Trust takes advantage of the
introductory skills, information and behaviours,
HCT offers a comprehensive apprenticeship apprenticeship levy, applying it up until Masters level. There are specific programmes within the Trust beyond clinical apprenticeships. These include:
Wider NHS 5 year partnership with Chartered
Institute for Personal Development (CIPD) focused on “raising the capability, credibility and impact” of the 16,000 HR, OD and L&D professionals.
Programme for administrative skills, customer
all support workers are equipped with the same
with the opportunity to identify areas which need improvement thus supporting development.
The framework also allows those from other areas
or volunteers to re-train as a support worker where
applicable, ensuring a universal standard is upheld. Volunteers are made aware of and offered the opportunity to earn a Level 3 Qualification with the Trust.
service and IT roles.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Trust works with ‘Community First’, the lead
recruitment 5 Open
provider of volunteers for HCT. Community First is
now encouraging its volunteers, specifically those who volunteered in the vaccination programme
during the pandemic, to consider pathways for work into the NHS.
Exploring volunteer options in partnership with
JobCentre+, encouraging jobseekers to consider a
To ensure an unbiased and representative
down the line would blossom into a paid career
Asian and Minority Ethnic Group employee in each
short-term volunteering position with the Trust, which opportunity.
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Goal 5: Open recruitment
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
recruiting process, the Trust ensures there is a Black, of the panels.
career progression 6 Fair
Goal 6: Fair career progression Administrative Progression
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Widening access to savings & credit
Goal 7: Widening access to savings and credit
HCT has contributed significant time and
Cost of Living Crisis
career pathways. Activity undertaken includes:
protect staff from the current and accelerating effects
resources into developing extensive administrative
Customer Service Transformation (CST)
programme.
Creation of admin hubs, allowing the Trust to
put together a comprehensive career structure for administrative staff career development.
The Trust holds an Admin Conference annually.
Talent management programmes
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust has talent
management programmes at all levels, specifically targeting under-represented groups.
The Trust’s ‘Talent 3-4 programme’ and ‘Talent
The Trust has put together a package to attempt to of the cost of living crisis. This package includes:
a one-off payment of £100 in recognition of cost
of living.
continued suspension of car parking costs. increased mileage rate for 3,000+ miles.
Financial Education for Employees
The Trust offers retirement and pension planning courses for all staff members.
The Trust provides finance training for budget
holders, with one-to-one support available for all.
5-7 Realising Your Potential programme’ are in
their second year, with over 100 staff having gone through the Talent 5-7 programme already. Leadership Development
Inclusion has been a main theme of HCT’s
leadership development in the past few years. Two Board development sessions have been run on the subject, along with inclusion and
compassionate leadership being key themes
at various conferences and forums. HCT’s 2021
Leaders Conference included a keynote session on understanding bias. Apprenticeships
HCT uses the apprenticeship levy to support
staff development, including pre-registration podiatry and a ‘health play specialist’ apprenticeship.
Other members of staff have been supported in Primary Care to access Nursing Associate
apprenticeship programmes by transferring the Levy pot.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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health and well-being 8 Good
Goal 8: Good health and wellbeing CASE STUDY Pulmonary Rehabilitation Service
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust runs a Pulmonary Rehabilitation service for members of the community
suffering with lung disease, breathlessness or general chest and breathing-related issues.
Due to the variation in severity of participants’
condition, the Trust’s approach is personalised. The Pulmonary Rehab (PR) Service, which is part of the Community Respiratory Service is made up of
service experienced by participants so far: The most commonly reported benefit
Physiotherapists, Assistant Practitioners and Admin &
experienced by patients attending the PR service is
The PR service provides classes for adult patients
through exercise or as a result of learning to control
Exercise Assistants.
within East & North Hertfordshire. Groups of patients,
up to 16, attend weekly 2 hour sessions over the space
a reduction in their feelings of breathlessness.
This may be due to improved fitness levels
their breathing thus preventing the onset of panic. Chest clearance techniques, which patients
of 8 weeks. The sessions are centred around exercise
practice independently, can help to reduce
In addition to this, patients are seen on an individual
about their disease & better coping skills leads to an
and education.
basis for Respiratory Physiotherapy assessment
and treatment. Group classes are run in local leisure
centres; whereas patients seen on an individual basis are seen in a clinic setting.
The Trust has set out a number of aims of the PR service:
To reduce the symptoms of breathlessness,
cough, chest infections (exacerbations) and reduced activity of daily living.
To equip patients with the necessary skills needed
to self-manage their condition; and wherever possible keep them out of hospital.
Enhanced self-management skills are known to
improve a patient’s quality of life and reduce anxiety & depression.
Increased fitness and activity levels are known
to reduce the number of exacerbations/”flare ups”
a patient may experience, which can in turn reduce hospital admissions.
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There are a number of measurable benefits of the
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
exacerbations and ”flare ups”.
A reduction in symptoms, increased knowledge
overall improvement in patients’ quality of life. Co-Production
To ensure a rounded and informed delivery of public health services, the Trust has established a number of co-productive relationships. These include:
Specific charity groups - cardiac rehabilitation,
‘Pumping Marvellous’, Asthma UK, Stroke Association.
‘Healthwatch’ organisations to better
understand the experiences and views of those using the Trust’s services.
Work with support groups - Parents and Carers
of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Children and the Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA).
Work with the HCPA to develop training schemes
and materials, joint initiatives to ‘maximise the reach of opportunity’.
Food and nutrition
The Trust is focusing on revolutionising its approach to menu options for patients, with a commitment to review and adapt menus to offer healthier,
lower-carbon options - high in vegetables and fruit,
low in processed foods/meat; locally sourced as well as seasonal - with information about this on the menu to inform patients’ choice.
In line with a changing menu, the Trust is also taking steps to reduce supplement use containing plastic packaging, replacing with homemade milkshakes
across the Hertfordshire and West Essex ICS, and then Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS.
Over 1.8 million vaccinations have been administered to date across the two systems.
As well as HCT’s work in the mass vaccination centres, a key focus has been to reduce health inequalities. This included initiatives to vaccinate people who
would otherwise not be able to easily access the mass vaccination centres.
and fortified food at mealtimes.
This focused on vaccinating people in non-traditional
In line with the Trust’s move to increase
soup kitchens for the homeless, universities and
sustainable green spaces, it will investigate the possibility of vegetable gardens and fruit trees at inpatient units and at the Peace Children’s
settings such as a local mosque, football grounds,
shopping areas. This made it as easy as possible for
people to get their vaccination and maximise uptake.
Centre Garden.
In addition to the mass vaccination centres, nurses
Community Outreach
Service have been responsible for delivering COVID-19
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust continues to focus on ‘awareness days’, reaching out to the
community using their co-productive relationships to spread messages. These days have included;
diabetes stands in communities, Stroke Association awareness etc.
The mass vaccination agenda has also been a large community outreach scheme concerning the health and wellbeing of the wider community.
The Trust took the lead early in 2021 to deliver the
COVID-19 mass vaccination programme, working in
partnership to establish 17 mass vaccination centres
in HCT’s Community and School-Aged Immunisation
vaccinations to schools across Hertfordshire and East Anglia (covering Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Suffolk and Norfolk and Waveney).
This was another example of where the Trust mobilised incredibly quickly to make sure school-aged children could benefit from the COVID-19 vaccination.
The COVID-19 Vaccination service has also worked with
colleagues in the County Council Learning Disability team to provide specific support to patients with Learning disabilities to access the vaccination programme,
working creatively and making adjustments to ensure a good experience for those being vaccinated.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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Specialist health initiatives
The Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) Home Delivery
service was set up in October 2021 to support patients
who are unable to attend face-to-face group sessions or who do not have the skills or technology required for online pulmonary rehabilitation support.
The service provides exercise and education for patients with complex health problems, such as chronic pain,
mental health illness, or a learning disability, in addition to a respiratory diagnosis, and reduces some of the health inequalities faced by this group of patients.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust has worked with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, other neighbouring
trusts, commissioners, local authorities and primary care to expand and enhance the way in which hospital level care is provided for patients within their own homes. Hospital at Home, which began as HCT’s Prevention
of Admission service in March 2020, is now provided
for and by healthcare professionals in East and North Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership.
This will provide the right care for patients’ needs, whilst
reducing unnecessary admissions to hospital. Given the
complexity and cross-organisational dependencies, this is only possible through true partnership working.
Menopause has been another important area of focus
The public health nursing team carries out especially
menopause support app for staff, which has received
important strategic work on maternal mental health in the Hertfordshire community. This team has also
been specifically focusing on spotting early signs of loneliness in older people.
Staff health and wellbeing
excellent feedback.
Working with partners in the region, HCT is also working towards becoming accredited as a menopause
friendly employer.
Supporting the health and wellbeing of staff though
HCT has two Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) facilitators,
priority for the Trust, recognising the demands that
employees across the Trust.
the pandemic has continued to be a very high its teams have been under.
The Health and Wellbeing Hub, run jointly with
local partners, offers a comprehensive psychological support service to staff, with a helpline and counselling service.
This ‘Here for You’ service provides a programme of
support webinars on subjects such as burnout, long COVID, redeployment and menopause.
An Employee Assistance Programme also provides counselling, legal and debt advice.
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for the Trust. It has taken part in a national pilot for a
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
who have provided MHFA training to staff to support
It has also implemented Schwartz Rounds - a group forum where clinical and non-clinical staff meet
regularly to discuss the emotional and social aspects of working in healthcare. STEP2
The STEP2 team have been exploring schemes to
better support LGBT children, providing mental health services where needed.
This has involved a creation of safe spaces for children to discuss their sexuality and personal feelings.
Special Care Dental Service
CASE STUDY
and dental services to individuals with physical and
Luton Health and Wellbeing Hub
The Special Care Dental Service provide oral hygiene learning disabilities.
The work of this team goes well beyond the remit of dental hygiene:
They use Cognitive Behavioural Techniques to
ease the anxiety of those with dental fears.
They are trained in sedation for more acute
Luton experiences especially low levels of vaccination uptake, in line with high levels of health inequality, compared to the rest of the country. In response
to this HCT are part of Luton Wellbeing Hub in the town centre which was set up to encourage vaccinations.
dental operations.
The hub encouraged groups to walk-in for a vaccine
goggles for children with autism instead of sedation
have come in voluntarily for a vaccination.
In some cases, the team uses Virtual Reality (VR)
during a dental procedure.
with entire families, groups who would never normally
The team visited the hotels where Afghan refugees
The scope of the hub also includes walk-in routine
Previously have run pilots for schemes with
checks concluding in a referral to health services.
were staying to help those with tooth problems.
the local homeless population to provide dental services to those without a home.
The dentist will also, where needed, take the
patient’s blood while they are having dental treatment,
health checks and other GP functions, with 10% of health
Specifically for children, the hub is also used to encourage MMR vaccine uptake.
give vaccinations, take an Electrocardiogram and have
The Luton Health and Wellbeing Hub is taking the
and cut the patients hair where this would never have
a more preventative approach to healthcare in
in rare cases arranged for a hairdresser to come in been possible in traditional settings.
strain away from local GP services and is encouraging the city.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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enterprise 9 Extending
Goal 9: Extending Enterprise HCT is an organisation with its roots in the
community - it connects local stakeholders together, linking voluntary organisations and ensuring that the right connections are made within Hertfordshire.
The Trust commissions and has contracts with many community and local voluntary sectors.
For its Nutrition and Dietetics services, the Trust
subcontracts to Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILs) and Diabetes UK.
partnerships with ‘Green Champions’ in their procurement framework and process:
The opportunity to bring additional expertise on
Adding Social Value through procurement
sustainability into the assessment and procurement
agenda, central government procurements over
acquisition systems.
As part of the nationwide equality of opportunity a certain value now need to give at least 10% of weighting of decision criteria to social value. This includes:
process would add social value to the Trust’s
Partnerships with green champions would
allow the procurement team to focus on their area of expertise.
The Trust has benchmarked a possible
Themes and outcomes
discussion with Harlow Council regarding
Help local communities to manage and recover
recommendation and improvement identified
Recovery from COVID-19
from the impact of COVID-19
Tackling economic inequality
work on Anchor Institutions, with this initial by the Purpose Goals framework.
Create new businesses, new jobs and new skills
HCT will inform suppliers and adhere to the
Fighting climate change
announced by NHSE in the September 2021 board,
Increase supply chain resilience and capacity Effective stewardship of the environment Equal opportunity for all
Reduce the disability employment gap
commitments in the supply chain roadmap
including the 10% minimum social value weighting from April 2022.
Tackle workforce inequality
Partnerships with local businesses
Improve community integration
them understand the possible implications of long
Improve health and wellbeing
NHS commitment to buy sensibly, add
value, efficiency
Macro-based change.
HCT evaluated the way in which they can build social
value into their procurement process. One area where the Trust has identified a possible improvement is a
The Trust will be working with local businesses to help COVID on the workforce, and to better understand remedies and solutions to any potential issues. The Trust collaborated with Doccla looking into
how HCT uses remote monitoring technology and where this could be improved.
reduction in the evaluation given to the ‘finance’ element
The Trust is an active member of the Hertfordshire
there is a 60/40 split between finance and quality.
connections with local businesses and organisations.
over ‘quality’ to balance with social value. Traditionally,
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The Trust has been evaluating possible
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
Chamber of Commerce. This has led to numerous
the digital divide 10 Closing
Digital Enablement
Due to COVID-19, the move towards working from
home and a more digital-based society, the Trust
Goal 10: Closing the digital divide Hospital at Home service
HCT has worked with East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, other neighbouring trusts, commissioners, local
has begun a campaign of digital enablement for affected patients, who tend to be older and less likely to use or have access to online services. This includes:
The provision of devices, with equal access
authorities and primary care to expand and enhance
whether patients have digital technology or not.
patients within their own homes. Hospital at Home,
help connect with families.
in March 2020, is now provided for and by healthcare
application to increase engagement with the
and Care Partnership.
and general engagement. Although certain issues
the way in which hospital level care is provided for
which began as HCT’s Prevention of Admission service professionals in East and North Hertfordshire Health
The service works in collaboration with ‘Doccla’ to
monitor the condition of individuals and has plans to
collaborate on developing more advanced ‘at home’
The Trust has added additional assistance to
The promotion of Musculoskeletal (MSK) online
service regarding exercise, monitoring uptake may arise as patients need their own device,
engagement will only increase as more and more people become tech savvy.
The Trust has installed iPads into bedded units in
technologies, with aims to use these with wider cohorts.
order to help patients keep in touch with families.
The Hospital at Home service has seen an almost
services to work digitally and face to face
100% compliance with delivery of necessary medical supplies and equipment to patients’ homes, with engagement not dropping off even with certain technical issues patients face.
STEP2 - streamlining and adapting of some
depending on the personal preference of patients. Support for Staff
HCT offers comprehensive IT training for staff as a central part of its digital strategy.
The Trust has ensured every member of staff has a
laptop and / or phone, particularly operational staff. Digital safety is prioritised for staff with fraud and scamming alerts available for all.
The Trust offers a rolling replacement scheme for digital equipment and licences to ensure staff are up to date with the functionality as digital technology develops.
HCT has installed Wi-Fi access in every single one of its patient public areas - every Health Centre, clinical space, every bedded unit.
The Trust offers a 365 tip of the day in their weekly newsletter.
Clinical systems training is offered and available to
all staff to aid in understanding all digital processes and systems they may use.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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for opportunity 11 Infrastructure
Goal 11: Infrastructure for opportunity Estate Management and Improvement
The Trust is largely up to do date for the ongoing estate maintenance programme.
There is continued Trust investment in updating their estate, as seen in Waltham Cross where
there is installation of gender neutral toilets and a consideration of electronic car charging points.
The Trust will be reviewing their estate strategy later
this year to ensure they have the right infrastructure in the right places.
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Building homes & sustainable communities
These include:
Health and safety on site
Fire risk assessment on site Security on site
Staff and patient safety
Counteracting crime and promoting safe spaces
Goal 12: Building homes and sustainable communities Upgrades to Trust Estates
ensuring it is reinforced.
The Trust has invested in the Peace Children’s
Adaptation and green spaces
a sensory area at their Starfish House site in Stevenage.
to mitigate the risks or effects of climate change
Centre garden, designed by Alan Gardner, and
It is actively seeking opportunities for similar gardens at other sites.
The Trust has created and built 22 staff ‘relax and refresh areas’ as a result of NHS Charity funding. HCT actively measures and monitors air quality at its estates and the potential impact on staff.
The Trust is in the process of developing plans and severe weather conditions on the
organisation, services and functions. Particularly in the case of flooding and heatwaves, the
organisation is formulating specific plans to alleviate the effects on the organisation’s
infrastructure, patients, staff and sites that have been identified as at risk.
It has identified remedial action it needs to take
The impact of climate change, and actions to
respect to COVID-19.
with regular updates to reflect the changing
internally around air circulation, especially with
Non-Clinical Risk Group
mitigate, are recorded on the Trust’s risk register climate impact.
The Trust has put together a ‘Non-clinical risk
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is also
patients in the community from non-medical issues.
sites and support local biodiversity operations.
group’ identifying possible risks to both staff and
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in the community
Creating an ‘appropriate behaviour policy’ and
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
developing plans to improve green spaces at Trust
the energy 13 Harness transition
Goal 13: Harness the energy transition Carbon Architecture Contract
The Trust, partnering with Carbon Architecture,
is currently developing a carbon net zero roadmap. This includes:
LED Lighting
Proposals to implement building management systems
Air source heat pump for heating Trust estates Ground source heat pumps may be used in larger estate buildings.
Workforce and system leadership
The delivery of a Net Zero NHS “e-Learning for
Healthcare” module will be made available on the
Trust’s My Learning Zone, with all staff encouraged to undertake this as part of their Continual Professional Development (CPD).
The Trust has plans to develop and implement a communications and engagement plan to
Sustainable model of care
The Trust will continue the development of the ‘Green Plan’ to ensure it achieves its full potential to deliver care more sustainably.
maintain staff, ‘Green Champion’ and other partner
The Trust will add a green spoke to its Quality
and the public in this agenda.
across services.
engagement, and to start the engagement of patients
Wheel and use this to drive the Green agenda
The Trust has plans to establish informative material
Through benchmarking and quality improvement work,
information to staff and patients.
sustainable and effective care is delivered consistently,
within every site to convey green initiatives and
Additional information, sharing initiatives and green
plans will be created by HCT through ‘top tips/fact of week’ in bulletins and screensavers.
In order to raise awareness and challenge staff, a ‘How green can you get?’ checklist for topics has
been introduced, including; is it locally sourced and produced, is it seasonal, plant-based or organic, is there no or low packaging?
The Trust will provide support for their Sustainability
Manager through apprenticeship funding to obtain an MSc in Sustainability.
the Trust will reduce unwarranted variation to ensure and health inequalities are addressed.
The Trust is committed to increasing the understanding of its carbon impact - both direct and indirect carbon
footprint - of staff home working plus staff and patient travel linked to services, treatments and patient pathways.
The Trust carries out work with clinicians within HCT and across its partner organisations to consider pathways
or clinical specialities that could be decarbonised and share best practice. This could include the creation of
an ‘ideal ward’, which demonstrates carbon reduction best practice at one of its sites.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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HCT supports the adoption and spread of
clinical carbon reduction innovations through research, seed funding and forums to spread
an electronic equivalent.
innovations e.g. via running innovation competitions
The Trust is rolling out an auto planner system to
Network (AHSN).
Teams (ICTs), with potential to look at a similar solution
or involving the local Academic Health Science
The Trust aims to increase partnership working to
ensure patient appointments are streamlined to avoid
improve visit optimisation within the Integrated Care for Public Health Nursing in due course and general route optimisation.
multiple visits by separate NHS personnel.
All appointments with the Trust are made via online self-
Digital transformation
cloud-based solutions for its systems and services.
The Trust will conduct any future digital improvements
booking and where possible the Trust is moving towards
to systems and processes in line with published
The Trust is planning to increase its adoption of digital
Reporting (Star) to identify opportunities to reduce
board. This will be coupled with an extension of
materials by HMG Sustainable Technology Advice & carbon footprint.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is committed to develop and implement a roll out plan for a
services for patient video conferencing across the
Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration
(EPMA) for other community services and a move to
conduct training and meetings online where possible.
‘paperless by default’ approach. This will include the
The Trust is improving its collection and recycling of
or appointments to patients and GPs rather than by
hardware with space to extend this to staff personal
use of email or online portal to send letters, reports,
post. The development of this programme will replace
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paper forms for both patients and staff with
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
old devices; computers, mobile phones and other devices where possible.
Travel and transport
The Trust’s ‘Green Plan’ provides details on the
organisation’s approach to improving air quality
and developing a green travel plan will build upon these ideas.
The organisation is committed to developing
initiatives to promote greener travel and behaviours such as joining the anti-idling cleaner air hospital
framework. This will be included in the green travel
plan, with additional information on the carbon cost of travel on the expense system.
Information will be provided for visitors and staff on green travel options. For example; public transport links and EV charging points.
The Trust is planning to develop and implement
plans for electric vehicle charging infrastructure at
freehold and key sites, with room for an investigation
into the use of electric pool cars and E-bicycles which could be used by the Trust’s various services.
The Trust has plans to establish a roadmap for
decarbonising heat in HCT buildings, with a phasing out of gas boilers to replace them with heat pumps. The Trust has pledged to develop and adopt an ‘eco-specification’ framework for all estates, as
well as conducting an eco-overhaul during planned estates work. This is to ensure an inclusion of
opportunities such as reviews on improved insulation, better thermostatic control of buildings etc.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is making steps to
The Trust is looking to maximise partnership
and visitors to cycle to work. There is the provision of
charging, meeting room and estate utilisation.
ensure all key sites have facilities to encourage staff
bike sheds at the Trust’s headquarters with the ability
opportunities and the use of public estate for EV
for staff to claim mileage for using bikes to get to work.
Waste and soft facilities management
councils to develop safe cycling routes towards the
measure its current usage - via purchasing records -
A longer-term goal for the Trust is to work with local various Trust bases.
In an effort to reduce the use of paper, HCT will and seek to reduce paper usage over time.
The Trust will continue to encourage virtual learning,
This will also be conducted with plastics, going one
to reduce travel where this is compatible with high
taking specific action to reduce the use of single use
work video meetings, and patient video consultations quality care delivery and staff wellbeing, as well as encouraging home working or mixed home/office
model for office-based staff. It will actively encourage partners and stakeholders to do the same.
Currently, the Trust does not have data regarding
the total mileage travelled by patients and visitors.
Therefore, the Trust will aim to create a questionnaire
that allows data to be collected and this portion of the
step further by making the NHS Plastics Pledge and plastics, eliminating unnecessary catering plastics,
including removing plastic cups from drinks machines and avoiding miniature milks.
The Trust is taking steps to improve stock control,
including more effective and better stock takes, to reduce over-ordering and waste as items reach
use-by date and redistribute overstocked items.
Trust’s Scope 3 emissions to be estimated.
HCT will ensure recycling bin signage is ‘crystal clear’
Estates and facilities
at all sites. The Trust will also offer a helpline for waste
The Trust is aligning its estates and facilities plan
with deliverables in the NHS Estates Delivery Plan. The organisation is rolling out LED lighting as well as implementing solar panels at all sites.
and that relevant bins are available in the right areas and recycling so that new bins can be ordered and issues rectified quickly.
All cleaning products used by the Trust will be more eco-friendly, including biodegradable products.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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Agree suitable metric(s) for measuring supply chain
& procurement impact.
Measure and take action to reduce purchasing of
single use plastics, specifically unnecessary catering Medicines
Upon reflection of its ‘Green Plan’ the Trust
ambition to further reduce over time.
Sharing best practice within the ICS to drive
identified there was no data available to understand
sustainable procurement.
Oxide use. This will be corrected and regular
Carbon Footprint Plus within its supply chain
to drive down emissions.
plans to address this with suppliers. Look at where
the carbon footprint associated with Nitrogen
consumption data reviews are being undertaken
The Trust will continue to influence pathways on how inhalers are prescribed and when they are
first prescribed as very low numbers are actually
Concentrate on the largest contributors to HCT’s
(suppliers and products) and develop targeted
alternative suppliers/products would enable the Trust to lower its carbon footprint.
Re-assess the central dressing supply.
prescribed by the Trust. This will be carried out in
Finance and capital investment
through its Children and Young People (CYP)
digital resources to the full to support sustainability.
conjunction with support for wider system transition Asthma Service - this is in line with the NHS
commitment of a 50% reduction by 2028 and a 6% reduction in 2021/22 on a 2019/20 baseline.
HCT will optimise the use of medical gases,
including specifically reducing nitrous oxide waste in its dental services.
The Trust will leverage its capital spend on estates and For example, it will use other estates’ work as an opportunity for eco-overhauls.
HCT will consistently review the capital requirement
associated with its ‘Green Plan’ and ‘Net Zero Roadmap’ and seek to optimise the profile of capital spending
over time to achieve the required Net Zero trajectory.
The Trust has committed to move to further
To ensure business cases are prepared and specific
for this type of specialist recycling.
Public Sector capital investment made available
recyclable medication packaging or collection points
In an effort to reduce and better manage medical waste, the Trust will work with patients, families,
projects are ‘shovel ready’ to benefit from short-notice for sustainable schemes, the Trust will continue to
undertake preparatory work on such capital projects.
pharmacies and GPs to reduce the waste and
The Trust plans to add the consideration of Carbon
reviews to address over-prescribing and carry out
Assessments (QIA).
stockpiling of medications. It will conduct medication responsible capture or disposal of waste medicines. HCT will extend EPMA for other community services and/or rollout Electronic Prescribing Service (EPS)
to services so that prescriptions are sent directly to
Footprint impact into business cases and Quality Impact
HCT continues to capture and report on emission reduction projects and initiatives to quantify carbon savings.
patients’ pharmacies of choice rather than printed.
In addition to measuring reductions in carbon emissions
Supply chain and procurement
metrics - including waste tonnage, expensed mileage
Through the vector of the Trust’s ‘Green Plan’,
HCT is seeking to add focused environmental social value through it’s supply chain and procurement processes:
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plastics, as well as paper consumption with the
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
over time, HCT will also establish a set of supporting
- and targets for the different areas of focus. Allowing the Trust to establish a reporting mechanism and
dashboard to create visibility of progress across its green agenda.
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Achieve equality, through diversity & inclusion
STEP2 Initiative
STEP2 is a children and young people’s mental health services working with 0-19 year olds in Hertfordshire, offering brief and goal focused interventions to
young people suffering from mental health issues. Through this programme the Trust offers one-to-one or group interventions, based on the nature of the
Goal 14: Achieve equality through diversity and inclusion
young people’s difficulties, including counselling,
Making services accessible to all
This has been specifically tailored to help LGBTQ+
patient/carer and include all aspects of an individual’s
a traditionally straight and white dominated area
HCT’s Care Plans recognise the diverse needs of the life where support might be required, for example, psychological, physical and spiritual or religious.
Working closely with its estates team, the Trust has
visits from their health advisor or school nurse.
and Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic communities in of the country. Over 85% of the population are white with around 95% of the Hertfordshire community identifying as ‘heterosexual or straight’ in 2018.
engaged with the National Autistic society who
Community Outreach
recommendations on how these spaces could be
Accredited. It runs a number of breast feeding
reviewed several HCT buildings and made
made more welcoming for autistic service users and enhance their experience of care.
The Trust’s breast feeding team is Gold Unicef
educational schemes in diverse communities,
especially targeted towards Black communities.
This includes changing flooring and colours used
The Trust runs a ‘Health Inequalities’ week, this has
aquariums in waiting areas.
crisis whereby individuals from certain communities
throughout the clinics as well as installation of some
The Trust recognises the diversity within its local
become particularly relevant since the COVID-19 were disproportionately affected.
population. It is committed to providing effective
communication with non-English speakers, people
for whom English is a second language and patients with a sensory impairment who require communication support.
The Trust has taken steps to improve the care of a
disadvantaged group through creating a learning
disability and autism strategy group, refreshing its
learning disability improvement plan, developing a
resource pack and training provision, implementing easy to read comment cards and working closely with partners across care pathways.
HCT continually analyses the effect of any policy,
service or function on staff or patients from the nine
protected characteristics. The equality analysis process allows it to establish whether there is a negative or positive effect or impact on a particular protected
group and take action to remedy any adverse impact.
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
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Support for disadvantaged groups
The Trust has continued to maintain Level 2
Disability Confident Employer status under the
meetings open to anyone to attend.
Disability Confident scheme.
The Disability and Long-Term Conditions (DLTC)
In November 2021, the Trust was awarded the
measures and the disability agenda more widely.
Bronze Award by committing to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and Step Into Health Pledge.
Network helps drive the Trust’s work on its WDES
Work has included exploring the introduction of health passports and work adjustments relating to dyslexia.
Support for staff
The LGBTQ+ staff network meets every two months
Badge scheme, which provides a visible confirmation
looking at refreshing the Rainbow Badge scheme, the
In 2019, HCT signed up to the NHS Rainbow
that the Trust is a non-judgmental and inclusive
place for the LGBTQI+ community (those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or other
gender/ sexual orientation), through staff wearing a rainbow badge.
The Trust has a strong and effective Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic network, with its own Chair and executive committee.
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This group is supplemented by wider all staff virtual
HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST ACTIVITIES
and is increasing in strength and visibility. As well as network has been looking at issues such as gender neutral toilets and participating in Pride events.
Inclusion Champions at HCT work within teams to
ensure all voices are heard. These champions act as a point of contact for staff in their department; sharing information on plans, helping raise awareness, and
advising informally on equity, diversity and inclusion issues and procedures.
Analysis
05
Hertfordshire has been identified as an area where boosting health and wellbeing for residents is a priority. This makes the work HCT carries out as an employer,
a health service and a bedrock of the community ever more crucial.
The Trust has established connections with local schools, informing children of healthcare work
experience pathways with specific offerings for
nursing and doctors. In areas with high levels of
unemployment, this work within schools will bear fruit for the community - equalising opportunities from early years.
The links HCT has made with local schools is also
supporting some of the most vulnerable children, with its STEP2 initiative for LGBTQ+ children and the Trust’s Care Leavers and Looked After Children Scheme. HCT prioritises personalised healthcare for
members of its community with acute additional
needs, supporting those most vulnerable to health
inequalities. The Trust’s Special Needs Dentistry Team carries out extensive additional strategic health
evaluations. This team goes above and beyond its remit, carrying out vaccinations and taking blood
while completing the treatment, easing the patients’ anxieties through Cognitive Behavioural Techniques. The Trust has set out its comprehensive ‘Green Plan’
forging a clear pathway towards net-zero - securing a sustainable future for its local community. The Trust’s work on its Green Plan should act as an
example for other organisations through the sharing of this best practice.
HCT recognises its responsibility not only to patients and the community but also to staff wellbeing.
Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust is engaging in
far-reaching work to support colleagues, patients and its communities across the 14 Purpose Goals.
The challenges the NHS has faced over the past
The Trust acknowledges that there are many
only added pressure onto employee health and
and it is all too often split by those who have access to
few years and now with the rising cost of living has wellbeing. The Trust’s Health and Wellbeing Hub runs
in partnership with local specialist partners and offers extensive psychological support to staff.
contributing factors in causing health inequalities,
opportunities and those who do not. HCT is putting in place the necessary measures to address the cause of these inequalities, not the symptoms.
ANALYSIS
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06
Recommendations After analysing the Trust’s
current activities and speaking to the senior leadership team,
the following recommendations have been developed. The first four recommendations focus
on recruitment, retention and building a diverse workforce,
issues tha thave been identified as priorities. 1.
activities, there should also be a chance to give feedback on the effectiveness of what is being delivered.
2.
Following on from the first recommendation, the
Trust could expand its pre-employment support.
The Trust currently has pre-employment support or job advice support for volunteers and current staff, as well some care leavers.
Firstly, the Trust should keep volunteers informed of
any employment opportunities and, where needed, provide pre-employment support. Apprenticeships could provide a good route into employment for
volunteers, many of whom may be coming back from career breaks or wanting to retrain.
A more calculated outreach programme into local
Secondly, HCT could widen its pre-employment
The Trust has established connections with local
lower banded roles.
schools and communities.
schools, offering work experience pathways for
children who have an interest in a career in healthcare with specific offerings for nursing and doctors.
To have the most impact the Trust could target schools from the most deprived areas within the areas it
serves. Using the social mobility index, the Trust could
identify schools where children are furthest away from opportunity and target them for extra support. Being
more targeted would allow the Trust’s resources to be used more effectively.
Outreach into schools and local communities needs to
be inspirational and fire up the imagination of those who wouldn’t normally consider a job within healthcare.
The Trust should ensure that outreach into schools is
support to get a more diverse group of people into
As an example, Barts Health NHS trust runs a
programme, called Community Works For Health
Programme, in which they support local people into lower banded roles, they run large scale NHS career information days where people take functional
skills assessments and then receive additional preemployment training if necessary. The results have been impressive, with 10% of their current staff coming through the programme.
HCT could work closely with local further education providers to give people training to apply for jobs.
Currently a lot of applications fail at the first hurdle
but the Trust could be turning away good candidates who are just unsure of how to fill in application forms.
measured correctly. This could include setting a goal of
More pre-employment support will eventually lead to
the outcomes of different initiatives. As well as
that is more representative of the local communities.
how many children to reach each year and measuring
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measuring numbers of children taking part in the
RECOMMENDATIONS
a more diverse intake of employers and a workforce
3.
To expand the social value generated by the
Trust’s talent pipeline, HCT should explore specific
These four questions are:
‘What was the occupation of your main household
programmes to get under-represented groups
earner when you were aged 14?’
into employment.
‘Which type of school did you attend for the most
schools become more aware of employment, work
‘If you finished school after 1980, were you eligible
Due to the nature of resources within the NHS being
‘Did either of your parents attend university and gain
programmes to get under-represented groups into
you were 18?’
As part of its work with the local ICS, HCT can help
time between the ages of 11 and 16?’
experience and apprenticeship opportunities.
for free school meals at any point during your school years?’
increasingly stretched, the Trust could explore specific employment.
HCT already has specific programmes to help care
leavers into work but it could run similar initiatives for
other groups of disadvantaged people, such as carers,
a degree (e.g. BA/BSc or equivalent) by the time
Once further information and data is collected
on employees, tailored support mechanisms can be undertaken.
refugees, homeless people or those with a disability.
To go even further, the Trust could explore an
An example of this type of programme is Project
disadvantaged in its workforce. These include those
SEARCH - a transition to work programme for those with learning disabilities and autism.
It runs as a year-long internship programme with
participants doing different jobs each term. The project
introduction of workplace mentors for those who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, care leavers, carers and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds identified through the questions above.
is a combination of classroom instruction, career
5.
job aspects, there is training in independent living skills
of the organisation.
exploration, and hands-on skills training. As well as the to help participants outside of work.
The project is a chance of employment for participants but also gives them wider skills that they can use in the future if they are not offered employment at the end of the internship.
4.
Create targeted support for employers to ensure fair career progression.
Embed net-zero and social value across all areas The two biggest issues that the country and the world is facing at the moment are; planet -
sustainability and the road to net zero - and people ensuring that opportunities are open to all no matter their background.
The Trust could lead the way in the sector
embedding a focus on planet and people into all aspects of its operations.
Just as important as recruitment, is ensuring that
For example, procurement must be seen through
opportunities to progress.
Procuring local goods and creating local employment
those from different backgrounds are given the same
Initially, the Trust could identify individuals in need
of further support through strategic socio-economic tracking. This would enable them to pick out any blockages in career development.
Through four questions developed and
both a sustainability and a social value perspective. opportunities can be seen as a positive through both lenses.
For recruitment - every time there are roles being advertised at the Trust, they should be looked at through a social value lens.
implemented by the Equality of Opportunity Coalition,
By embedding both planet and people into all
of all employees.
organisation.
HCT could identify the socio-economic background
operations, HCT will truly become a purpose-led
RECOMMENDATIONS
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