Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been reaccredited for its focus on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), demonstrating 'significant improvement' in its initial rating.

The trust became the first in the UK to receive gold CSR accreditation in 2020.

Under 'Our Community Promise,' launched in June 2021, the trust prioritises actions on employment, education, economy, environment, and inequalities.

The trust’s chief executive, Sir James Mackey, said: “Through our approach to integrated care, we are involved in many different parts of the healthcare system; we provide care in our hospitals, in people’s own homes, in our GP practices and via our home care service.

“This means we understand how important it is to support people in all the different aspects of their lives as best we can.

“Recognition such as this accreditation is always nice, but it’s vital that this is based on meaningful actions and making a real difference.”

Already, success is apparent as 25 per cent of the organisation’s apprentices are now from deprived communities, a rise from 20 per cent in 2021.

The widening participation team, which engages with schools, colleges and other education institutions to widen access to careers and job opportunities in health and care, has also been expanded.