Prerana Issar

Prerana Issar
Born
Alma materLady Shri Ram College, Delhi
XLRI - Xavier School of Management
Employer(s)Unilever
United Nations
National Health Service

Prerana Issar is a British public servant and Chief People Officer at the National Health Service. At the National Health Service, Issar is involved with the People Programme, which looks to better support members of NHS staff. She has previously worked with Unilever and the United Nations.

Early life and education

[edit]

Issar was born in India.[1] Her parents both worked for the Government of India.[2] Her mother, Promilla Issar, was a senior bureaucrat, and served as Chief Secretary of Haryana.[3] Her first degree was in psychology.[4] She attended both Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi and the XLRI - Xavier School of Management.[1][5] Issar's first job was working for Unilever in India, where she oversaw projects on global food.[6]

Career

[edit]

Issar spent fifteen years at Unilever.[7] In 2013 she was appointed Chief Human Resources Officer of the World Food Programme at the United Nations,[8] and eventually became Director of Public-Private partnerships.[1] In this capacity she worked on three major areas, including nutrition, supply chain and technology.[1] Her work was guided by the Sustainable Development Goals.[1] She developed the United Nations' first strategic human capital approach.[9]

In April 2019 Issar joined the National Health Service as its first Chief People Officer.[10][11] Here she developed the NHS People Plan, designed to support NHS staff.[12][13] The plan looks to improve workplace culture as well as improving continuing professional development.[12] She delivered a TED talk on the Power of Purpose.[14][15]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Issar was involved with the design and delivery of the National Health Service response. She has said that for hospitals to handle the increased workload they would have to have inclusive, distributed leadership.[16] She was moved by the public support for the NHS, in particular the surge in applications to join the health service.[17] In March 2020, Issar announced that the NHS had partnered with Headspace to offer free mental health support for NHS frontline medical staff. She had hoped that this partnership would reduce stress and risk of burnout.[12] In response to the disproportionate impact that coronavirus disease had on black and minority ethnic communities,[18] Issar wrote to all NHS Chief Executives calling them to better resource and empower staff networks.[19][20] In particular, she said that if employers could not protect their black and minority ethnic staff they should be redeployed elsewhere in the organisation.[21] In early June, as the Government eased lockdown restrictions, Issar called for NHS trusts to raise awareness of coronavirus disease amongst patients and staff, with a particular focus on ancillary workers.[22]

Personal life

[edit]

Issar has two children.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e impakterdotcom (21 June 2018). "Amplifying WFP's Impact: How Partnerships Make a Difference". Impakter. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "NHS England » Prerana Issar". www.england.nhs.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Prerana Issar pays tribute to her amazing mother Promilla Issar". femina.in. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  4. ^ Hawthorn, Phil (16 January 2020). "Prerana Issar Health Chat". Soft Skills for Hard Times. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  5. ^ "XLRI Jamshedpur Class of 1997" (PDF). Rachnasomani. 5 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Prerana Issar | HSJ WORKFORCE FORUM". workforceforum.hsj.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Sustainability Summit 2018". The Economist Events. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. ^ Craig, Nick (5 June 2018). Leading from Purpose: Clarity and the Confidence to Act When It Matters Most. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-316-41623-8.
  9. ^ "Prerana Issar". Best Practice 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Home". acertus.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  11. ^ Collins2019-02-28T13:46:00, Annabelle. "NHS hires new HR chief from UN". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b c Headspace. "Amid Growing Global Health Crisis, NHS Partners With Headspace To Provide All Employees Free Subscriptions To Curb Rising Stress And Anxiety". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Impatient for change: Prerana Issar on leadership and the NHS workforce". The King's Fund. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  14. ^ "TEDxNHS | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Watch 2019 – TEDXNHS". Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Why is leadership important right now?". The King's Fund. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. ^ "Surge in applications to work for NHS during pandemic". ITV News. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Mayor meets experts to take action on COVID-19 BAME disproportionality". London City Hall. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Diverse representation in decision making and workforce equality" (PDF). 5 June 2020.
  20. ^ "BAME communities and Covid-19 | Royal Pharmaceutical Society | RPS". www.rpharms.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  21. ^ Kituno2020-05-13T16:11:00+01:00, Nick. "Consider redeploying staff vulnerable to covid-19, employers told". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "NHS England urges trusts to raise awareness around Covid-19". www.nationalhealthexecutive.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.