NHS staff are to be offered physio, counselling, yoga and Zumba classes in a bid to save billions of pounds in sickness costs.
The health service is one of the world’s largest employers – with over 1.3million staff – but its absence rates are worryingly high.
Today its chief executive, Simon Stevens, will say creating healthy workplaces is “no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-do”.
He will use a key speech to announce a raft of measures aimed at cutting the alarming NHS staff sickness bill of £2.4billion a year.
The £5million initiative will also includes an occupational health service for GPs suffering from burnout and stress.
It was ordered after it was revealed staff take nearly 15 sick days a year – more than three times the UK average.
Speaking at the NHS Innovation Expo conference in Manchester today, Mr Stevens will say NHS organisations must serve healthier food, promote exercise, reduce stress and provide regular health checks.
The checks will focus on mental health and musculoskeletal problems – the two biggest causes of sickness absence across the NHS.
Mr Stevens will say: “NHS staff have some of the most critical but demanding jobs in the country. When it comes to supporting the health of our own workforce, frankly the NHS needs to put its own house in order.
“At a time when arguably the biggest operational challenge facing hospitals is converting overspends on temporary agency staff into attractive flexible permanent posts, creating healthy and supportive workplaces is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a must-do.
“And at a time when the pressures on GPs have never been greater, we need to extend the local practitioner health programmes that have been shown to help GPs stay healthy and get back to work when sick.
“Equally, it’s time for PFI (private finance initiative) contractors and catering firms to ‘smell the coffee’ – ditch junk food from hospitals and serve up affordable and healthy options instead.”
Staff will be able to undergo regular NHS health checks at work to make them more accessible, while workers will have access to physiotherapy, mental health talking therapies, help to stop smoking and weight-loss services.
Healthy food options will be promoted in all restaurants, cafes and vending machines following meetings between NHS England and catering contractors.
Catering firms will be urged to publish nutritional information and keep to “appropriate” portion sizes.
Organisations will establish and promote exercise programmes, such as local yoga or Zumba classes, team sports and discounts on buying bikes for cycling to work.
Christina McAnea, Unison’s head of health and chairwoman of the NHS Social Partnership Forum, said: “The health and wellbeing of NHS staff at work has a direct impact on patients and this initiative rightly starts recognising that.
“Addressing physical and mental health issues is important and a step in the right direction as it will help tackle some of the major causes of stress at work.
“NHS staff experience some of the highest levels of stress and violence in the country and this can no longer be tolerated.”
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said: “The positive steps the NHS is taking to systematically improve the health and wellbeing of its workforce, including better access to occupational health,
encouraging more physical activity and healthier food options, will have trickle-down benefits for the health and wellbeing of the wider population.
“The money saved on reducing staff sickness can be spent on services for the public and the healthier habits picked up by public sector employees can be passed on to the people they serve.”
Estimates from Public Health England put the cost to the NHS of staff absence due to poor health at £2.4billion a year – accounting for around £1 in every £40 of the total budget.
In 2013/14, the average NHS worker took an average of 14.82 sick days, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
This is more than three times higher than the average worker in the UK.
Across the entire labour force, workers took an average of 4.4 sickness days in 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics.
From: The Mirror