Published on: 8 March 2023

From March 2023, as part of a 12 month pilot, staff will be given access to sanitary products free of charge in line with national campaign against period poverty.

Throughout the last year we have listened to staff through the Big Team Talk, staff survey, at our staff networks, through the Chief Exec Facebook Live sessions and in our Staff Facebook group. 

Colleagues told us that they have experienced unexpected bleeds at work due to the menopause, struggled to access sanitary products whilst at work and many staff have shared concerns about cost of living. In response to this, from Wednesday 8th March - which is also International Women’s Day - we will be dropping off baskets of sanitary products across all Trust sites. These won’t be in every single toilet, but they will be available for staff to access in high footfall areas across all Trust sites and venues such as staff changing facilities as well as toilets that have a sanitary bin.

Within the baskets there will be tampons and sanitary pads alongside a urine colour chart, which can aid staff in knowing if they are hydrated. The baskets will be dropped off throughout March, and we would ask that staff volunteer to be the person to contact the Inclusion Team who will arrange to refill the baskets. If you would like to be a volunteer please contact stsft.inclusion@nhs.net.

Our Executive Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development Kath Griffin and Equality Diversity and Inclusion Lead Phillipa Poole have also spoken on Our People Podcast, to discuss international women's day, our Menopause Pledge which we marked one year ago today, and what we’re doing to help those facing period poverty. 

We are committed to supporting all our staff and you may have seen some of the other things we are doing including financial support with the introduction of our credit union, our three staff networks, the fantastic work our carer coordinator does, team support and our recently launched health and wellbeing checks.

Health and Wellbeing checks are aimed at identifying people's risks of developing health conditions including Heart disease, Stroke, Kidney disease or Type 2 diabetes. The check includes screening of lifestyle factors. As well as carrying out measurements such as height, weight, cholesterol and blood pressure.

For further information or to request a Health and Wellbeing Check please contact the Wellbeing Team on 0191 5410069 (Ext 40069) or by email @ stsft.wellbeing@nhs.net.

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