Social responsibility
As part of our role helping the NHS to deliver on its Long Term Plan and in line with our strategy to be a responsible business,, we are committed to protecting and promoting the communities we operate in through our corporate social responsibility strategy.
We do this by reducing demand on NHS services through supporting community-based health initiatives and addressing social issues to improve overall population health. Watch the short video to find out more about CSR at NHS Property Services.
100
social prescribing hubs to improve community wellbeing
121
different charities supported by our colleague volunteers in 2022/23
£107k
raised for our charity partner, Young Lives vs Cancer over two years
Creating spaces for social prescribing
Social prescribing is a way that GPs, nurses and other primary care professionals can refer patients to local, non-clinical services often provided by the voluntary and community sector to address the root cause of their health problems and improve wellbeing.
We are in prime position to help the NHS get the most from its estate and so are transforming vacant indoor and outdoor spaces across our portfolio into social prescribing hubs for community groups to use to help these patients.
Improving building accessibility
We have been working with AccessAble since 2017 to produce accessibility guides for 324 of our properties so that patients can feel prepared and confident about getting to and around our NHS buildings.
We are also investing across our estate to make changes to our properties to make them more accessible, such as adding ramps, widening corridors, adding handle bars around buildings and using accessible colour schemes.
Tackling health inequalities
Health inequalities are differences in health across the population that are caused by lots of factors. This could include where you grew up or where you live now, or your age, gender, or ethnicity.
With properties across the country, in some of the least and most deprived areas, we have a role to play in helping to reduce the health inequalities that people are experiencing.
Charity partnership with Young Lives vs Cancer
Following a call for applications in January 2021, Young Lives vs Cancer is our official charity partner for the next three years.
We are working closely with the charity to raise essential funds for their Homes from Home initiative. These free homes offer a lifeline to families as they are close to principal treatment centers, helping families avoid the extra financial burdens of travel, accommodation and food costs while allowing cancer patients to be close to their loved ones.
Colleague volunteering
Each NHSPS colleague gets two volunteering days a year where they can spend time away from work to support our communities and help address local social and health issues. For 2020/21, we are aiming for 5% of our colleagues (260 people) to spend at least one day volunteering.
Opportunities for volunteering include gardening at a community centre, helping young people with professional development and supporting people with memory disorders through puzzle making workshops among many more.
