Collaborative Procurement Partnership (CPP) has achieved a prestigious double success in the British Safety Council International Safety Awards 2022.
CPP, which is a service provider for NHS Supply Chain, beat international competition to win the “Wellbeing Initiative” award. And Liz Gandara, CPP Operations Manager, picked up a highly commended award in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Ambassador of the Year category.
The International Safety Awards recognise and celebrate organisations and individuals from around the world who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the scheme’s independent judges their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year. The awards also recognise organisations and individuals that have shown commitment to wellbeing and mental health at work.
Helen Lisle, CPP Managing Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted to win the “Wellbeing Initiative” award for the many initiatives we put in place to help our employees through the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, which have now become part of our everyday way of working.
“Our teams were at the heart of the procurement response to the pandemic and so were under huge pressure to procure much needed products for hospitals and the wider NHS. We recognised the need to support our colleagues and ensure their health and wellbeing was at the forefront of everyone’s thinking despite the huge challenges being placed upon us.
“CPP only formed as a company in May 2018 so to win such a prestigious international award is testament to a huge team effort to focus on health and wellbeing. Our overall approach has been enthusiastically led by our Operations Manager Liz Gandara, so for her to pick up an individual award as well is the icing on the cake.”
The “Wellbeing Initiative” award entry recognised a range of CPP health and wellbeing projects including:
- No meetings zones
- Dedicated health and wellbeing weeks
- A staff-led Entertainments Committee to hold online bingo, quizzes, and competitions during lunch breaks when in lockdown
- Managing Director quarterly wellbeing touchpoint calls with staff
- Familiarisation days to reduce anxieties about returning to the office after working from home due to lockdown
- A buddy programme to support new starters joining CPP during lockdown
Judges were impressed by the appreciation shown by employees for the health and wellbeing support available, as well as a fall in staff absences because of the health and safety measures introduced. This included a 34 per cent drop in anxiety, stress, depression, or other mental health problems, and an 89 per cent drop in back problems.
CPP Operations Manager Liz Gandara’s highly commended award in the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Ambassador of the Year category recognises the enthusiastic and energetic way she has promoted and led safe working at CPP including:
- Developing a mobile Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) service to support safe home working
- Developing a workstation assessment tool to protect colleagues from the potentially negative impacts of office work including musculoskeletal and back problems
- Completing the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents training to carry out DSE assessment for colleagues, remotely and in person
- Running familiarisation events ahead of the re-opening of offices following lockdown
- Leading a project to reshape our offices to create agile working spaces suitable for hybrid working
- Delivering safety and IT equipment to colleagues’ homes throughout lockdown so that people working from home could do their jobs safely
Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said: “We commend Collaborative Procurement Partnership on their achievements. The awards are recognition of their commitment and efforts to keep their employees and workplaces free of injury and ill health.
“They have gone above and beyond in dedicating additional time, resources and commitment to ensuring their work, teams and workplaces remained healthy and safe during 2021.”
More information on the International Safety Awards can be found at: www.britsafe.org/isa
Collaborative Procurement Partnership is a service provider for NHS Supply Chain services for Sterile Intervention Equipment and Associated Consumables; Orthopaedics, Trauma and Spine, and Ophthalmology; and Rehabilitation, Disabled Services, Women’s Health and Associated Consumables.