Category: Why we’re different

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Building Capable Communities for Learning Disability and Epilepsy

In an effort to address the pressing issue of premature avoidable death in individuals with learning disabilities living with epilepsy, we are pleased to announce a forthcoming webinar focused on building capable communities. The webinar aims to bring together experts, professionals, and stakeholders to explore effective strategies and initiatives that can make a real difference in improving outcomes for this vulnerable population.

The statistics are alarming, with nearly a quarter of people with learning disabilities experiencing epilepsy – a condition that significantly affects their health, safety, and overall well-being. Tragically, epilepsy carries an increased risk of sudden unexpected death (SUDEP), underscoring the urgent need for action.

Join our virtual webinar on June 7th, 3-5pm, to gain insights from families, explore research on risk factors, understand the case for whole-system approaches, learn from healthcare leaders, discover the Step Together Benchmarking Tool, network with peers, address health inequalities, and access valuable resources for improvement.

This webinar is open to healthcare professionals, commissioners, clinicians, support organisations, and all those interested in improving outcomes for individuals with learning disabilities living with epilepsy.

To reserve your spot for this important event, please visit: https://www.midlandsandlancashirecsu.nhs.uk/event/preventing-premature-death/

Join us for this crucial webinar, as we work together to build capable communities and combat premature avoidable death in people with learning disabilities living with epilepsy.

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A pledge to being green: MLCSU staff share personal and professional pledges to reduce carbon emissions

Empowering MLCSU staff to make personal and professional pledges for a sustainable future

A staff campaign to mark the two-year anniversary of the NHS commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2040, resulted in 63 staff pledges and increased awareness of the green agenda.

In support of the NHS staff engagement campaign, Healthier Planet, Healthier People, MLCSU committed to reducing its carbon footprint by dedicating an entire month to green issues.

Known as Go Green Month, the ambitious campaign encouraged and empowered staff and teams to make their own personal and professional ‘green’ pledges. The campaign successfully engaged staff across the organisation and as many as 63 video and written pledges were made on a dedicated page on the staff intranet. Pledges ranged from simple personal changes, such as stopping buying single-use plastic products, to systemic professional changes such as adopting greener digital solutions to encourage greener ways of working.

Aims of the campaign

Other aims of the campaign – which took place in October 2022 – were to raise awareness of the wider Greener NHS campaign and MLCSU’s own Green Plan, and bring people together to share ideas and tips on how they could reduce their carbon footprint.

To do this, we created green branding assets across the staff intranet – Nugget – and on the staff Twitter channel. We also shared articles, tips and resources across a range of platforms, including Nugget and Microsoft Teams. In total, we produced 18 Nugget articles, eight Tweets (with 570 impressions), five staff blogs, and hosted eight Go Green spotlight sessions (led by our Green Champions) with 88 attendees. Blogs ranged in subjects from vegan diets to simple IT solutions – such as sending fewer emails.

Go Green Month followed the NHS’ recognition that as one of the main carbon contributors in the UK, the NHS can make an impactful change by reducing its own carbon footprint. Healthier Planet, Healthier People also recognises that health and climate change are interlinked and that making conscious choices to tackle climate change will improve the nation’s health.

CSUs are not legally bound to create a ‘Green Plan’ but as part of the NHS, the MLCSU has a responsibility to reduce its carbon footprint. As part of this commitment, we created a Sustainability Group made up of colleagues from across the organisation and led by Chief Information Officer Debbie Bywater to create a Green Plan for MLCSU.

As part of this plan, MLCSU is committing to reducing its carbon footprint by 80 per cent by 2028 – 2032. To achieve this, MLCSU must decrease its carbon footprint by 15 per cent year-on-year. This will help contribute to the NHS’ broader target of reducing its carbon footprint by 80 per cent before 2040.

Making a difference

Go Green Month is part of this wider aim to engage staff in making personal and professional commitments to reduce our carbon footprint. Small actions from a 1.3 million-strong workforce will add up to make a big difference.