HEIW wins national award
ealth Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) have won the ‘Improvement in Colleague Engagement and Experience’ award at this year’s HPMA Wales Excellence Awards.
The awards, hosted by the Healthcare People Management Association (HPMA), recognises and rewards the outstanding work of human resource departments in healthcare across Wales.
Having only established itself just over twelve months ago, the award praised HEIW for its approach to helping employees from the Wales Deanery; NHS Wales’s Workforce Education and Development Services (WEDS); and the Wales Centre for Pharmacy Professional Education (WCPPE) transition and embed into one organisation.
Leading up to, and following the establishment of HEIW, employees were encouraged to get involved in shaping the organisation by participating in staff/stakeholder engagement events, focus groups to ascertain the organisation’s culture going forward, coffee mornings and meet and greets with the new executive team.
Celebrating the win, HEIW’s Chief Executive, Alex Howells, said “I am delighted that HEIW have been acknowledged nationally for its contribution to employee engagement.
“This award recognises the passion and commitment from our staff both prior to and since we launched on 1 October 2019, to develop and embed HEIW core values that will help us work towards a culture driven by empowerment and innovation, and support our vision of ‘Transforming the workforce for a healthier Wales’.
“I would like to congratulate and thank everyone for their continued engagement and support.”
The organisation was also highly commended at the awards in the category of ‘Partnership & Seamless Working’ for its new approach to ‘Managing Attendance at Work’ (MAAW), alongside workforce and organisational development colleagues, and trade union representatives from all seven Health Boards and Trusts in NHS Wales.
The new MAAW approach focuses on supporting colleagues holistically to maintain their health and wellbeing, or, successfully return to work following any period of absence.
Launched in October 2018, HEIW plays a leading role in the education, training, development, and shaping of the healthcare workforce in Wales, in order to ensure high-quality care for the people of Wales.