Mission: Menopause
Our workforce is the greatest asset for supporting the 1.5 million people calling South Yorkshire home. ICS strategies highlight our vision of supporting staff wellbeing as a lever for retention, diversity and improved care. Our health and care organisations now collectively invest £2+ million annually in workforce engagement and wellbeing. We focus on prevention, leadership and crisis support to drive inclusion, wellbeing and learning culture. One of our most impactful initiatives is the ICS-wide ‘Mission: menopause’
Within South Yorkshire ICS we have 72,000 members of staff with almost half (34,000) being women between the ages of 40 and 60. Menopause is when menstrual periods stop. It is natural but drenched in stigma. Employers never mentioned it in policies, staff reviews, wellbeing conversations or workforce planning.
We needed to tackle this urgently because 46% of South Yorkshire’s health and care workforce are women around menopause age (34,000 of 72,000 staff); nationally, research suggests that 1 in 4 women reduce their hours or leave work due to menopause. In South Yorkshire, this equates to losing around 10,000 staff within five years, or 1 in 7 staff. So, it was essential that we raised awareness of the menopause and supported those affected by it as failure to do so would have a detrimental impact upon our workforce and the health and social care landscape across the area.
Staff menopause directly impacts on patient care. Three quarters of women suffer menopause symptoms which could affect their ability to provide the best quality care to patients. Almost everyone will be affected, either directly or through relationships at home or work. We recognise that the menopause is nto0 just a 'women's issue'. Almost everybody will be affected by it, either directly or by knowing partners, family, friends or work colleagues experiencing the menopause. It was therefore vital that our organisations across South Yorkshire worked together in an inclusive way to become menopause friendly employers to allow for a sustainable culture change to take place.
Do you work in Health and Social Care organisation in South Yorkshire? If so, are you interested in being part of South Yorkshire ICS Mission Menopause? Together we can create Menopause Friendly workplaces across South Yorkshire. Come and join our Menopause community of practice. We have free bespoke training courses for both Menopause Champions and Advocates. If this is something you or someone in your organisation would be interested in, please email us on syicb-sheffield.hwb@nhs.net
Kindly provided by Halsa Wellbeing and Henpicked.
How to Care for YOU During the Menopause
Balancing Hormones and Emotions
MSK Reflexology to support Menopause symptoms
Menopause: The Change is Here - Interview with Haitham Hamoda (YouTube)
Halsa Wellbeing - Meditation to support the Menopause podcasts
You can also follow the Henpicked podcast series on Spotify, Apple or Deezer.
- More than 3 out of 4 women experience menopause symptoms at some time.
- 51 is the average age women reach menopause
- 1 in 4 women experience serious symptoms which impact on their day-today life.
- 2 in 5 women said their menopause symptoms had been worse than they had expected
- 8 in 10 women of menopausal age are in work
- 1 in 100 women reach menopause before the age of 40
- Symptoms of the menopause can last up to 10 years.
- Symptoms range from cognitive, physical and psychological symptoms (for example hot flushes, muscular aches, poor concentration, anxiety and headaches).
Source: NHS Employers (August 2021)
Recommended books
- Menopause The One- Stop Guide by Kathy Abernethy
- Management of the Menopause by Timothy Hillard, Kathy Abernethy, Haitham Hamoda, Imogen Shaw, Marian Everett, Julie Ayres and Heather Currie - published by the British Menopause Society
- Amazing Grace Adams Fran Littlewood
- Fearless Louise Michin
- FAQs on Menopause Julie Robinson
- Cracking the Menopause: While Keeping Yourself Together Maria Frostrup with Alice Smellie
- Menopause: The True Story Christa d’Souza
- What is Menopause?: A Guide for People with Autism, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Kate E Reynolds
- Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap to your Second Spring Davina McCall with Dr Naomi Potter HarperCollins hardback
- The Change: Women, Ageing and the Menopause Germaine Greer
- Menopause: The Change for the Better Edited by Deborah Garlick and Henpicked
- The Complete Guide to the Menopause: Your Toolkit to Achieve Control and Life-long Health Annice Mukherjee
- Mindful Menopause: How to have a calm and positive menopause Sophie Fletcher
- Preparing for the Perimenopause and Menopause Dr Louise Newson
- The Complete Guide to POI and Early Menopause Dr Mandy Leonhardt and Dr Hannah Short
- Natural Menopause: Herbal Remedies, Aromatherapy, CBT, Nutrition, Exercise, HRT...for Perimenopause, Menopause and Beyond
- Quilt on Fire: The Messy Magic of Midlife Christie Watson
- Menopause: All you need to know in one concise manual (Concise Manuals) Louise Newson
- It's Not You, It's Your Hormones: The essential guide for women over 40 to fight fat, fatigue and hormone havoc By Nicki Williams
- Men... Let’s Talk Menopause by Ruth Devlin
- The one stop guide to menopause by Kathy Abernethy
- The New Hot: Taking on the Menopause with Attitude and Style by Meg Matthews
- Midlife Women Rock by Breeda Bermingham
Articles
Prof Jo Brewis, explains why it's urgent and important for all employers to take menopause seriously:
Menopause why it's urgent and important at work
Evelyn Dickey Former HR Director at Severn Trent, now Non-Executive Director at Nuclear Decommissioning Authority:
Menopause Support - an essential part of your HR Tool Kit
Jog Hundle, a leading employment lawyer:
Menopause and Employment Law
Sue Fish OBE, former Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police:
The importance of getting senior leaders on board
Kathy Abernethy, former Chair of the British Menopause Society:
Taking Menopause Conversations to the Next Level
Dr Louise Newson, a GP and a Menopause Specialist:
Mental health and emotional wellbeing in the perimenopause and menopause booklet
Antidepressants and menopause factsheet
What is reproductive depression?
ADHD and the perimenopause and menopause booklet
BBC news
Working women need greater menopause rights - MPs
The Body Coach & Dr Louise Newson, Menopause Specialist:
Perimenopause and Menopause Essentials
Clare Shepherd, Nutritional Therapist: