Caring 4 Carers hospital staff network

At the end of 2020 we were delighted to award York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust our Carer-Friendly Employer Charter, based on their commitment to support staff that have caring responsibilities outside of work.

Since then, things have taken a leap forward and the Trust has officially launched their new Caring 4 Carers staff network, which any staff member can get involved in. 

Ellen Lawrence is a carer, employee at the Trust, and founder of caring 4 Carers:

“The Caring 4 Carers network has gone from strength to strength since it launched, with carers getting in touch from within York Hospital itself, as well as other sites. The network is important because it’s already raising awareness of the different types of issues individual carers are facing. Carers want to be recognised, because balancing paid work and caring outside of work can be a struggle, so having the understanding of your employer can make things easier to manage. The Trust is fully supporting the network and has been open to all ideas in making the workplace more carer-friendly. We’ve also appreciated the support of York Carers Centre in getting started.”

Any employee at the Trust can get involved, whatever caring role you have. The Caring 4 Carers network plan to have monthly virtual meet-ups, with more plans in the pipeline. caring4carers@york.nhs.uk

If you’d like to know more about creating a carer-friendly workplace please get in touch with samantha.ferguson@yorkcarerscentre.co.uk