VetPartners launches Menopause Awareness campaign

VETPARTNERS is aiming to break the taboo around the menopause with a new campaign to raise awareness and support colleagues through this life milestone.

New resources to support women during the menopause have been created for VetPartners Learning in time for World Menopause Day on October 18th and can be found here: https://vetpartnershfhub.5app.com/playlists/151015 

As VetPartners is a female-dominated business, with 84% of employees across the UK and Ireland being women, the impact of the menopause on our colleagues is something we are committed to supporting.

Some 83% of respondents to a Veterinary Woman/SPVS survey said menopause has impacted their working life and career, and VetPartners’ new Menopause Awareness Campaign is aiming to:

·       Help everyone within VetPartners to understand what the menopause is.

·       Support managers to understand the menopause and confidently have conversations and know how to help.

·       Ensure those with symptoms to feel confident to discuss it, ask for support if needed and know where to find help.

Half the world’s population have or will experience the menopause and a recent IPSOS Mori poll revealed over half of working women aged 40-65 have experienced three or more symptoms of the menopause, including hot flushes (47%), night sweats (41%) and feeling tired (35%).

The poll also revealed that nearly half (48%) of women suffering from three or more symptoms of menopause have not spoken to anyone at work about their experiences.

After experiencing menopause symptoms herself, Sonia Cantwell, Head of Integration and Operations Support at VetPartners, is spearheading our Menopause Awareness Campaign to encourage more workplace conversations around the topic.

Sonia said: “Having been on my own menopause journey, I began noticing that we were receiving more and more request from our female colleagues looking for support and resources they could use to access information on the menopause.

“There are women in the company who want to talk and know that they are not on their own. We want people to be happy and feel supported in the workplace, but we also want to ensure that people are respectful of the journey some of their colleagues are on. We also want to equip managers and team members to be able to support colleagues during the menopause.

“There is overwhelming evidence that supporting everyone in caring, compassionate workplaces results in better outcomes for all concerned. This is particularly important in a clinical setting, and using this people-centred approach results in better clinical outcomes and higher standards of animal welfare and patient safety.”

Sonia added: “This awareness campaign is just the beginning of greater menopause support, and we hope it will encourage people to make suggestions of other resources that they use or would recommend, such as books and podcasts, which can then be shared more widely.”

The new resources on VetPartners Learning also highlight adjustments that can be made to support women during the menopause, such as providing a different uniform or providing a fan if a colleague is experiencing hot flushes, using techniques to support with brain fog, and providing a private area to relax and decompress.

There are also counselling services and wellbeing benefits provided through Health Shield.

If you’d like to share your experiences of the menopause or recommend books, podcasts or other resources to support colleagues, please contact wellbeing@vetpartners.co.uk

Article by Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director

Email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk