Amy Stubbs – 22nd March 2024 – 9.30am
West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS) has made it to the final of the Disability Smart Awards nominated for the Disability Confident Mental Health & Wellbeing in the Workplace Award.
The award recognises how an organisation has supported employees’ mental health and wellbeing in new and innovative ways, demonstrating a positive impact on the lives of their disabled employees and shows how the organisation has thoughtfully considered accessibility and inclusion for everyone when designing how a mental health and wellbeing strategy is delivered.
The criteria also required the organisation to show barriers experienced by disabled employees have been removed to enable everyone to access mental health and wellbeing support as needed.
This recognition speaks volumes for all the work that has been done to improve our support networks. We’re also the only NHS Trust to be shortlisted and are going head-to-head with international companies Bristol Myers Squibb and Asda.
Recruitment Manager, Louise Jones, helped submit our entry titled ‘Supporting Our People – #TeamWMAS’. She said: “I was thrilled to be able to pull together all the great work that is currently being done in the Trust by colleagues and I think this accolade recognises how hard everyone works to make WMAS an inclusive place to work.
“We have so many great things to shout about but we don’t stop there, we continue to identify how we can further support both applicants and employees with disabilities to succeed at work.”
WMAS has a wide range of support services available to all staff, as we recognise that a one size fits all approach does not meet everybody’s needs. In addition to the work completed by the Disability, Carers & Advocates Network, more recently we have launched a Neurodiversity workplace support group. This is peer led to provide colleagues with an informal support avenue to share experiences and support. We are also pleased to be working closely with the British Dyslexia Association as part of their workplace accreditation scheme.
The awards take place in London on 30th April but you can watch the livestream on the day if you’d like to join.
ENDS