Blogs

UK Disability History Month 2023: Being Ted's Mam
UK Disability History Month gives a voice to disabled and differently-abled people across the UK.
This year the focus is on the experience of disablement in children and young people, as well as the people surrounding them. Here, Melanie speaks from her experience of working at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) while being a carer for her disabled son.

World Menopause Day 2023 - My Menopause Journey
Menopause affects around 51% of the population, and any opportunity to raise awareness and understanding is a great thing.
This World Menopause Day, we spoke to Catherine, a Menopause Champion working with colleagues experiencing symptoms of menopause or those keen to support relevant people in their lives. She shares her own story and experiences.

My experience as a new Mental Health First Aider
Today (10 October) marks World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health awareness and driving positive change to encourage people to have conversations about mental health and support.
Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), our aim is to create a workplace where mental health is treated just as proportionately as our physical health. We have a team of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) across the organisation who have undertaken training accredited by Mental Health First Aider England, and are equipped to support our colleagues.

My life at the NHSBSA
This week, on 5 July, the NHS celebrates its 75th birthday. Founded in 1948, the National Health Service was the first universal health system to be available to all, free at the point of delivery.
As we look to celebrate this momentous occasion, one of our long-standing staff members, Carol Miller, shares some of her experiences on how her career at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) started, and how her work helps to support the NHS on a wider scale.

What Pride Month Means to me
June marks Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and their history, achievements, and ongoing struggles. As part of this, Corielyn Bromley, Data Quality Specialist here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), shares her story of the impact Pride Month has had on her life.

From ship to scrubs: the Windrush Generation's journey in the NHS
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948. Just two weeks later, the NHS was created. Triston Barton, Contract Manager here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), shares the story of his grandmother’s arrival from Jamaica and reflects on the invaluable role the Windrush generation played in shaping and strengthening the NHS, both at the time and today.

Carers Week 2023: My Sister
5 to 11 June marks Carers Week, an annual campaign to raise awareness of carers and the contributions they make to families and communities, as well as highlighting some of the challenges unpaid carers face.
This week, Darren takes to the blog to share his experience of caring for his sister, and the importance of support and flexibility to ensure the health and wellbeing of carers.

Volunteers Week 2023: The Pride in Volunteering
Volunteers’ week is back, 1-7 June and we want to shine a spotlight on all of the fantastic ways we can make a difference in our communities. You could arrange a beach clean-up, make a blood donation or become a befriender.
There are so many ways you can make your mark with your time, skillset and/or resources, just like Jason:

Global Accessibility Awareness Day: How we make our services accessible to everyone
At the NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA) we design, develop, and test every one of our services to ensure we have built them to be accessed and used by everyone.
This Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Chris Lockie, Professional Lead for Testing tells us why we pride ourselves on changing the ‘norm’, so we have services that focus on digital access and inclusion - putting our users at the centre of everything we do.

International Nurses Day: Reflecting on 75 Years
Every year on 12 May, we celebrate International Nurses Day - a day dedicated to honouring the invaluable contributions of nurses to healthcare systems around the world.
This year, staff across the NHS have the perfect opportunity to celebrate 75 years of innovation and high-quality patient care that nurses and other healthcare professions, have brought to our NHS and beyond.

parkrun to the Long Run - Celebrating 75 Years of the NHS
As part of National Walking Month and ‘Move it May’, we asked Lisa Stephenson, Digital and Social Media Assistant to talk to us about her experience of parkrun and its benefits.
parkrun is a free 5-kilometre running event started in 2004 and is facilitated entirely by volunteers. With people of all abilities joining in, it has grown to see almost 3 million finishers having taken part. The community itself means such a lot to people, and with no time limit and a guarantee that no one finishes last, there is a lot to like.

National Walking Month: My 1000 Miles Walking Challenge
May is National Walking Month and for many an opportunity to take part in ‘Move it May’.
This year a range of communities are choosing to mark the NHS’s 75th birthday by coming together to take part in the NHS 1000 mile challenge.
We asked Jane Stringer, Service Delivery Manager here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to share her experience of having taken part in a previous challenge.