The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire is the latest public body to sign the Northamptonshire Women’s Charter.
The Charter is Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone’s call for employers to take steps in improving women’s safety at work, in public spaces and across the wider community – as part of her wider plan to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).
The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) Group brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (KGH) and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust (NGH). More than 11,000 people work across the two hospitals.
By signing up to the Charter, UHN has committed to working towards the safety of women and girls.
The 119 organisations that have signed the Charter so far all have access to a toolkit of ongoing training packages, support and advice to help them ensure that they are creating respectful and inclusive spaces for women.
Danielle visited Northampton General Hospital recently to present UHN with its certificate for signing the Charter, where she also spoke at the UHN We Belong Summit – which showcases the work taking place across the organisation to strengthen inclusion and belonging, and to help turn insight into practical action.
Danielle spoke to stakeholders about the practical support that her office can offer in terms of bespoke training packages and bringing together all signatories of the Charter into a supportive community that shares best practice.
Paula Kirkpatrick (pictured above), UHN Chief People Officer, said: “Signing this Charter is important to UHN. We want to make sure all women and girls who work in our hospitals or who use our services can do so without fear of violence. All colleagues should be safe in the workplace, but we know women and girls do not always feel safe.
“We are pleased to be signing up to the Charter which is our public commitment to improving the experience of women and girls at UHN, but also gives us access to helpful resources and a network of other like-minded employers who are committed to making Northamptonshire a safer place for women and girls to live and work.”
Danielle added: “I am delighted that the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire has agreed to become the latest signatory of the Northamptonshire Women’s Charter from our emergency services.
“It is now more than nine months since we launched the Charter and it’s clear that there is an appetite across the whole county to work collectively to reduce violence against women and girls.
“By signing up to the Charter, UHN is now part of a community working towards that aim, and we look forward to working with them in a meaningful way and supporting their efforts to make their workplace environment as inclusive as it possibly can be.”
