Prestigious award for trust's work over corporate social responsibility

A hospital trust is celebrating after earning national praise for its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
Brenda Longstaff, head of Northumbria Bright Charity (centre), and Wayne Daley, Head of CSR at Northumbria Healthcare (right), receiving the award.Brenda Longstaff, head of Northumbria Bright Charity (centre), and Wayne Daley, Head of CSR at Northumbria Healthcare (right), receiving the award.
Brenda Longstaff, head of Northumbria Bright Charity (centre), and Wayne Daley, Head of CSR at Northumbria Healthcare (right), receiving the award.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has won the championship title in the prestigious CSR Accredited Companies category at the International CSR Excellence Awards 2021.

And there were further celebrations as the trust’s project deaf awareness co-ordinator, Margaret Robertson, was awarded the Bronze Innovation Award for her work with the D/deaf community, the first NHS trust to win the award.

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Sir James Mackey, the Trust’s chief executive, said: “I am immensely proud that the hard work of colleagues across the organisation has been recognised at a national level.

Chair of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Alan Richardson presenting the award to Margaret Robertson, project deaf awareness co-ordinator for the trust.Chair of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Alan Richardson presenting the award to Margaret Robertson, project deaf awareness co-ordinator for the trust.
Chair of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Alan Richardson presenting the award to Margaret Robertson, project deaf awareness co-ordinator for the trust.

“This accolade reinforces our commitment to delivering high quality and compassionate patient care and experience, while showing strong leadership and continuously pushing the boundaries, striving to be the best we can be.

"It also very clearly highlights the importance that we place on being immersed in the local communities we serve, not only to improve health and wellbeing, but to have a positive impact both socially and economically.

"Thank you to every member of staff – an amazing achievement.”

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Across the organisation, figures show that of the more than 300 staff currently on apprenticeships, 35 per cent are aged between 16 and 25, a third are from areas among the top 20 per cent most deprived in England, and a quarter are from rural areas.

Environmental sustainability has already been a focus for a number of years, with carbon emissions from energy use down 41 per cent over the past five years, while waste emissions were reduced by 50 per cent.

The new facility for sterilising medical equipment on the Northumbria hospital site in Cramlington as well as the new hospital in Berwick will be net-zero developments in terms of carbon emissions.

Other community initiatives include supporting arts through the ‘healing arts’ programme while the trust’s own charity, Bright Northumbria, invests nearly £900,000 a year to benefit staff, patients and local communities.

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Brenda Longstaff, head of the Northumbria Bright Charity, added: “Our charity ethos incorporates the fundamentals of corporate social responsibility and is an important element of what we do when serving our local communities.

"To have been able to accept this award on behalf of the entire trust really feels like a fantastic achievement.”