CPFT’s Head to Toe charity wins £48,000 grant to provide increased menopause support to staff
Staff at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust will be able to access additional specialist menopause support thanks to a £48,000 grant.
The funding has been awarded to the Trust’s Head to Toe charity by NHS Charities Together and NHS England.
It is one of 29 ambitious projects across England that will support the wellbeing of NHS staff in a programme which has received £11 million of funding, including a £5 million contribution from NHS England.
CPFT already has a Menopause Support Group, and the new grant will fund the recruitment of a specialist menopause practitioner and also allow the organisation to encourage more colleagues to access help.
The Trust, which provides mental health services and physical health care for older people and those with long-term conditions, employs more than 4,900 staff.
Of that number nearly 80 per cent – around 3,900 – are female. According to the NHS, the menopause usually affects women between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen earlier. At CPFT, more than 1,800 female employees – 37 per cent of the total workforce - are aged 45 and over.
Hannah Wysocki, Head of Charity for Head to Toe, said: “We are delighted to have received this grant because we are as committed to supporting our dedicated staff as much as we are to our patients and carers.
“This funding will mean our Staff Wellbeing Service and Menopause Support Group will be able to go further with the recruitment of a dedicated menopause clinician to provide specialist help to staff and also advise managers on how best to support their team members.”
Fiona Gelner, Staff Wellbeing Service Lead, added: “We know that some staff groups – such as those from a minority ethnic or LGBTQ background – are still under-represented in terms of the support they are receiving so the grant will also help the Trust to do more to ensure more colleagues can access services.
“Overall, we want to do everything we can to help staff to stay well and remain in their roles so they can continue to provide care to our patients.”
Amid continuing pressures on NHS services nationally, research from NHS Charities Together has highlighted that almost half - 47% - of NHS staff surveyed said their job was affecting their mental health while 41% said it was affecting their physical health.
Ellie Orton, CEO of NHS Charities Together, said: “Many NHS staff feel that theirs is the best job in the world, but these roles come with a tremendous responsibility for the lives they care for, and at a time of incredible pressure on health services, this takes a toll on their mental and physical wellbeing.
“In the face of so many wider healthcare challenges it can be easy to forget about healthcare staff, but it goes without saying that we need a healthy workforce if we want a thriving NHS that can give patients the care they need.
“This funding means NHS charities like Head to Toe can help ensure NHS staff prioritise their own health and wellness with the same care they give to patients, and we are delighted we can support this important work. We’ve spent a lot of time talking to frontline staff and analysing evidence from previous projects to arrive at solutions that will give healthcare staff the right tools to look after their own wellbeing."
Applications are now open for a second round of grant funding as part of this programme, in partnership with NHS England.
CPFT provides community physical health services for older people and adults with long term conditions, mental health services, children community services in Peterborough and learning disability services. The Trust is also renowned for its research and development work and in June 2025, CPFT was awarded Teaching Partner status by the University of Cambridge.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Andy Burrows, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Deputy Head of Communications
E communications@cpft.nhs.uk
