Cheshire mental health trust reaches final of National Business Awards

Jul 29 2010 Chester Chronicle

A LOCAL mental health trust has been announced as a finalist in the National Business Awards category for ‘Health, Work and Well-being’ – the only NHS Trust in the country to be nominated.

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) and partners Airbus Operations UK have been nominated for their work providing staff support and occupational psychiatry services to over 6,000 staff at the Broughton site in North Wales.

Sheena Cumiskey, chief executive, says: “This is a unique example of a collaborative partnership between a major manufacturing company and an NHS Trust.

“It demonstrates the effectiveness of high quality specialist mental health services, both in terms of quality and cost, within the workplace.

“We are extremely proud of our staff especially as the nomination and award recognises the UK’s most prestigious business with particular emphasis on excellence and innovation.”

Kirsten Brown, CWP liaison psychiatry representative, says: “We are all extremely pleased at the nomination for what is an innovative approach to dealing with support for all employees in the workplace. This reinforces CWP’s commitment to continually improve services for all employees.”

Commenting on the encouraging figures and the calibre of entries, Philip Forrest, chairman of judges, the National Business Awards, said: “The economic climate continues to present UK businesses with an unprecedented challenge and it is therefore encouraging that the entries in this year’s National Business Awards have shown no drop in quality or performance.

“Congratulations to all finalists for demonstrating great strength in the ability to adapt and innovate quickly which no doubt reflects the resilience and optimism that are the hallmarks of UK enterprise.”

Organisations short-listed this year range between public and private sector organisations based in the UK and include Unilever, Camelot, Marks & Spencer, American Express and Coca Cola.