Collaboration which has helped NHS trust ‘lower inequality and abuse’ is now up for a national award

Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, which is responsible for Elmleigh, Fareham Community Hospital, and Gosport War Memorial Hospital, is one of the organisations shortlisted for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) awards.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight People and Organisation Development Collaborative has been working collectively for a number of years with the aim of pooling funding, resources and expertise to benefit the various communities they serve.

The work, which has achieved a number of hugely successful outcomes, has now been shortlisted for Provider Collaboration of the Year at the national HSJ Awards.

Paul Draycott, chief people officer at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and system wide lead for workforce inequality, said: ‘Every trust is unique but a lot of the problems we face are not.

‘Working collaboratively has been hugely beneficial for us and learning from each other's successes and failures has enabled us to be successful when we might not have been had we not been working together.

‘On a personal note, our work to tackle the workforce race equality standard, lower inequality and abuse whilst also improving inclusion has been really empowering and great to see.’

The collaborative project featured all six of the provider trusts within Hampshire and Isle of Wight, including Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and the newly formed Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB).

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Together, the trusts have helped recruit more than 1,100 new staff into the area to support health care across local communities.

By working together, the collaborative project has also overseen a significant reduction in the number of staff who say they have personally experienced harassment, bullying or abuse at work.

Helen Ives, chief people officer at the newly formed Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, said: ‘I’m really proud our work has been shortlisted for a HSJ Award. Coming together to address the opportunities and challenges that we all face has enabled us to take a much more holistic approach which has been hugely beneficial for all the communities we serve.’